While the media giddily reported the September new vehicle sales numbers, beneath the surface, there was little to be giddy about. At 1,053,722 units, sales were down 2% from an already lousy August, but up 10% from an even lousier September 2010.
….But September benefited from a traumatic August: Consumer confidence was hit by the absurd debt-ceiling negotiations in Congress; stock markets worldwide plummeted; and upheavals in the Eurozone made it into the daily news. Then during the last week of August, hurricane Irene wreaked havoc on the East Coast. Sales in the affected areas came to a halt.