Is the freefall almost done?

The panic button has been lurking, begging to be not only pushed, but slammed so fast and so hard that it may break the dang thing off. US Automakers, in combination with record-high gas prices and one of the most sluggish economies in recent memory, have continued to post double digit loss after loss, made cut after cut, try gimmick after gimmick, and yet the bleeding and the losses continue to pile up. Is the freefall almost done?

Well, probably not.

Gas isn't going anywhere besides up. Experts who previously thought that the cost of gas would probably top off around the 4 dollar mark on average and then relax a bit are now looking at almost-daily crude oil prices. Even presidential candidate John McCain, in an interview, thought that it was "probable" that we'd see the average go up to 5.00 in a shorter time frame (that's comforting knowing the person leading your country already has this notion--I guess honesty isn't dead after all). Likewise, the different things like "Let's refuel America" and different ideas to try and still move the gas-guzzling models are not doing anything...at all.

And look at the other items of note: Honda, Hyundai and Volkswagen, all saw their sales rise by about 1% through June, and after outselling U.S. carmakers for the first time in May, Asian companies repeated the result in June as well. For the second straight month, Ford’s F-Series pickup, traditionally the best-selling vehicle in the U.S., was outsold by four cars: Toyota’s Corolla and Camry and Honda’s Civic and Accord.

There doesn't seem to be an end in sight. It may just take a government bailout to right the ship--I hate to say that because it has so many holes in the theory, but what else can happen here? Will Bill Gates come out of retirement and join forces with Mark Cuban to give an immediate cash infusion? I don't think so...but even ideas like this are just about as wild as thinking by the big three that things, as they stand and with their planning, will begin to show profit anytime in 2008, and maybe not even 2009.

Calgon, take me away!!

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Is the freefall almost done?

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