Automotive Sales Outlook = Bad

This should not be a big surprise.

Since 9/11, the worlds automotive manufacturers have made great efforts to push their brands. Led by GM, most automakers have offered big incentives to car buyers, and those that have saw their sales figures for fiscal years '02 through '04 increase drastically.

Here's what happened...

Everyone that wanted a car had the opportunity to buy one. Car prices were so favorable- even if people were going to put off buying for a few years- they brought a car. During this period- the Big 3 US auto makers sold to everyone they could, but they were still unable to shake quality concerns from some buyers. Some people chose Asian and European cars, and those companies were able to sell despite having the favorable incentives of US automakers.

For now, the US car market for US produced cars has dried up. There's still a market for foreign cars, but those foreign manufacturers will also have to deal with a market flooded with cars sold in the past 3 years.

The used car market will be great for a few years. With all the leases the US car companies will have to buy back, everyone will be able to get cheap used cars for a while...