Domestic Auto Industry Overview 2009

I put together a graphic overview including the latest news. God help us.

Legacy costs, and declining revenue due to foreign competition and the recession of 2008-2009 led to substantial losses for the Big Three, and forced GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy. To raise cash, the companies gave up ownership to unions and governments, and sold or cancelled nameplates. The federal Cash for Clunkers program stimulated sales in July and August by cannibalizing September’s demand, which sank to less than half the 17 million rate the industry had enjoyed for the past decade.

Low Car Diet: Part 2 – Day to Day

ZipCar is proving to be quite awesome. We are constantly bombarded with useless new products and services, but here is one that actually adds value to my life. Imagine that.

This past two weeks, I’ve used:

• a Prius to get groceries and dinner
• a Civic to check out an apartment in SF
• a 328i to check out an apartment in SF and visit Golden Gate Park
• a Nissan Versa to get groceries and go up to Mount Diablo to check for some of this week’s meteor shower action
• a Honda Odyssey to move from Berkeley to a new apartment in SF
• a Mini to get back over to Oakland for a Saturday homebrew BBQ

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