[Either way,] there will always be buyers for these trucks, ... The market is shrinking, but it is not getting vaporized. |
A 16 million sale rate is a rate we can live with, ... The transition period going from high point to low, that's always going to be difficult. There's a lot of white water, but it looks worse than it is. |
About the only thing I could say is I have expected and would expect our year-to-year decline to be more than the industry. |
All our fleet sales are profitable, though daily-rental are the least so. What is Wall Street suggesting, that we stop selling to Hertz, Avis and Alamo? They're customers, and they're not going to fold their tents and go away. |
Anytime you go from higher sales rates to lower sales rates, you're going to have to make some inventory adjustments, ... And it's clear there's more capacity being aimed at most profitable market in the world -- the North American light truck market. But you could see this coming a mile away. I think we are well positioned. |
Anytime you go from higher sales rates to lower sales rates, you're going to have to make some inventory adjustments. And it's clear there's more capacity being aimed at most profitable market in the world -- the North American light truck market. But you could see this coming a mile away. I think we are well positioned. |
August is better than expected, and I think it's a month we can build on. In fact our results are better than they look at first glance. |
but the sales pace may outstrip our production for the foreseeable future. |
Clearly, I think there's a bunch of factors out there, and probably we're talking about a year-to-year decline of 15 percent translates to 5,000 or 6,000 units, |
Consumers will have less money to spend on new cars and everything else. Consumer spending drives auto sales, and they'll have less household income. |
Dealer stocks are well below where we want them to be. |
down a couple of percent. |
Even at $4 a gallon, [buying a hybrid] is not a financial decision I'd make because you've got to pay about $4,000 or more upfront [in higher sticker price] for the privilege of driving around in a hybrid, |
Even at $4 a gallon, [buying a hybrid] is not a financial decision I'd make because you've got to pay about $4,000 or more upfront [in higher sticker price] for the privilege of driving around in a hybrid. |
Ford's F-Series truck was up again to start the year. This product over the years and continuing into 2006 has really been rock-solid for us and really provides a lot of the profit and cash on a go-forward basis for our plans. So it's important that sales remain solid, and they are. |