http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/business/16drugprices.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/17/business/economy/17econ.html
But when it ran an article on auto sales rebounding (see above) it failed to mention this which was on the AP.....
As auto sales rebound, price increases are likely
Written by Associated Press | | news@toledofreepress.comWhen Rebbie Lewis McGowen decided to replace her 2000 Dodge Stratus sedan with a new loaded-out Jeep Grand Cherokee, she was amazed that her favorite dealer agreed to a price that was about the same as she paid for a similar Jeep nine years earlier.
“That’s why I jumped on it the first day I saw it,” said McGowen, 61, who got the silver sport utility vehicle from River Oaks Chrysler Jeep in Houston for about $34,000, $7,000 less than the sticker price.
Like many U.S. buyers, she took advantage of a depressed auto industry, one that in recent years has had too many factories churning out too many cars and trucks for too few buyers, forcing big discounts. Although sticker prices have risen, actual sales prices aren’t a whole lot different than they were nine years ago.
So far this year, average sale prices actually have dropped by about $800 to $25,586, according to J.D. Power and Associates.
But industry analysts don’t expect that trend to continue much longer. General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC came out of bankruptcy protection with far fewer factories, and Ford Motor Co. for the past few years has been closing plants to align its output with demand.
Analysts say that with the industry’s massive restructuring, the big discounts that American consumers have gotten used to could go away as auto sales recover from the worst slump in more than a quarter-century.
“I just think it happened to be this point in time that I was able to make such a deal,” McGowen said. “Next year, when the 2010s come out, it’s not going to be the same situation.”
Growth in rebates, low-interest loans and other incentives may be starting to slow, reports the Edmunds.com automotive Web site. Across the industry, the average incentive per vehicle dropped from $2,869 in June to $2,735 in July.
But that could be an anomaly driven by increased demand from the government’s Cash for Clunkers program, which likely will expire in September. July’s figure is still $90 higher than the same month last year, according to Edmunds.
In addition to the restructuring, all of the Detroit Three are trying to develop better cars, ones that are so stylish, efficient, safe and reliable that people will pay more for them, similar to what Toyota Motor Co. and Honda have already accomplished in the U.S. market.
At Ford, the only one of the Detroit Three to evade bankruptcy court, getting more money per car is part of a strategy to return to profitability, Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth said recently.
“We’ve all got to learn to flex the revenue muscle,” said Booth, who adds that Ford’s actual sale prices are up this year, even in a down market. “It’s driven by our new products, and that’s why were getting improved transaction prices. We’re getting a mixture of reduced incentives and higher value from the customer. We’re selling more higher-service cars, more options, and all of those are good for profits and revenue.”
Now that people are demanding we reimport drugs to reduce prices, why don't they be consistent and demand importation of cheap cars from China and India...?
