Unwanted cars are piling up on storage lots worldwide

[JohnnyRingo]

It's not just a problem between GM and the UAW, cars around the world are being stashed at an alarming rate and volume.
http://jalopnik.com/5135675/where-are-automakers-stashing-unsold-cars

This is the Nissan Test Track at Sunderland England:


While there's still room there at Sunderland, some storage areas are already at capacity. Below are Toyotas at the Port Of Long Beach in California, awaiting orders from dealers that may never come:


What will become of these unprotected cars when rust begins to creep in? What will happen when they become outdated by 2010 models?

Someone should show these pix to John Boehner, who insists that the auto makers will begin hiring if they get a lower tax rate. Show these pictures to the senators who think the Toyota plants in their home states are immune because they beat the unions.

No wonder Bush looked like he saw a ghost a couple months ago when they finally informed him he destroyed a worldwide economy almost single handedly. He learned then what we're just now discovering.

How long can it be before it all grinds.. to...a.... halt?

[KansDem]

1. I want one!

I need a new car, but can't get a loan. If I can get a loan, one of those photos will have one fewer car...

[AlCzervik]

2. You should see the lot at the Chevy dealer here in my town, you can still get brand new but

over 2 year old trucks. Their lot is overflowing, same thing at the Ford dealer right before they went out of business. Same deal at the Toyota dealer as well, they have tons of inventory.

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. I wonder why they don't reduce the prices and offer cheap loans

It seems to me that would be better than leaving them lying around to rust.

[JohnnyRingo]

7. You're upsetting a long standing apple cart there.

The steel and tire companies feed the auto industry, which feeds the banking industry, which in turn gives us loans to buy cars to drive to work at the steel mill and tire plant.

It seems to me the problem isn't union demands or high priced cars, it's a financial crisis that was bungled by the past administration. When money loosens up and we end slave labor, the circle will once again be whole.

I don't think the collective auto companies alone can sway lending to any degree that will make a difference. Bailouts are a torniquet, and stimulus is a feel good band-aid.

The problem is economic. While the global stock market used to be a source of venture capital that actually produced something, it's now a casino for the brave and ignorant. Google is now more valued than IBM and Time Warner.

I think the trouble began with globalization and the exploitation of third world labor. The steel mill and supplier jobs were lost to people who can never hope to buy a car.

The consumer circle is broken. Hopefully, the Obama administration can invent a "consumer figure eight", or build a better apple cart.

[Johonny]

8. There's no financing to get a loan.

If the car companies could I'm sure they would. But loans are hard to come by these days.

[Cronus Protagonist]

10. They ALL have their own finance companies

And despite dealership closings, they REFUSE to lower the base prices of their cars to the point that the market will bear. Instead, they want our tax money for nothing.

[Ioo]

4. I want to buy '09 Pathfinder... I have $300, do we have a deal?

[Urban Prairie]

5. I would guess

That they fear a price drop war due to tight consumer credit, if one of the automakers "blinks" and drops their prices by a third or more, so they are all sitting on their inventory, waiting for the US government to "fix" the economy.

Same thing with cereal manufacturers, in comparison, but instead of dropping prices, they reduce content.

[paparush]

6. Americans? Living within their means? Garsh..what a concept.

[samplegirl]

9. I think its time Obama pulls a Cheney...

with Boehner. As for you JohnnyRingo your a genius. With that being said.....I K&R your post!!!

:loveya: