The ObamaCliff -- Absolutely Nothing To Do With The Bakken -- The GM Pickup Inventory; Meanwhile, Honda YOY Up Almost 40% In The US; French Car Industry On Track For Worse Year Since 1997

Updates

December 3, 2012:  This must be the day for pickup stories. See the link provided by "anon 1" in comments:  GMC and Chevrolet Bi-Fuel Pickup Production Begins.

Original Post

Some folks suggest that pickup sales are one of the best measures of an expanding or contracting economy.

First, some old data, back to August, 2012:

Only one more day until we get August sales data, and September 4th will bring us the latest inventory numbers. Here at TTAC, we’re keeping an eye on GM’s full-size truck inventory, which is as high as 145 days for the GMC Sierra – well above the 100 day supply that’s considered safe for full-size trucks.

Now, fast forward to December 3, 2012 (that would be today): GM was back up to 139 days in November for full-size pickups compared to 110 days in October.

Two comments: a) GM is on record as seeing no need to plan for the ObamaCliff; and, b) the GM pickup inventory trend is going in the wrong direction.

The good news: my hunch is you can get a good deal on a new pickup right now.

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Meanwhile,

Honda Motor's American Honda reports November 2012 U.S. sales of 116,580 units, an increase of 38.9% YoY. I don't invest in Honda, but I love the Honda Civic, so this is just a personal note, for archival purposes.

This is not an investment site; so do not make any investment decisions based on what you read at this site.

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It's easy to forget that the Eurozone is in a recession. France's car market is on coursefor its worst year since 1997, industry association CCFA said when reporting new car registrations fell 19.2 percent in November.