Ford's Mark Fields Gets Real With 2010 Auto Sales, Is The Economy RECOVERING or LAGGING?

It's really rare when Halley's Comet passes by Earth. Give or take 75 years.

That's just about how often the administrative bodies of an automotive manufacturer are really telling you what is going on.

So, when Ford executive, Mark Fields, lays down the law, it is pretty cool to see.

In a recent conversation with BusinesssWeek, Fields said that although consumers are feeling relatively better, they are still reluctant to go out and spend as they used to. Remember, macroeconomic conditions are still fragile with unemployment hovering at abysmal levels, and it is possible that Americans could be looking at a double-dip recession.

The Truth About Cars makes a valid point: "We’ll wait to see the actual June numbers before we officially end all hope of a strong recovery, but it’s starting to look more and more like 2009 was closer to “the new normal” than anyone wants to think."

If you are not up to speed, in the US, auto sales for the year were approximately 16-17 million vehicles annually.

Now, it is currently hovering around 11-12 million vehicles for 2010.

Time will tell but this is certainly not a "recovery" by any means. This is merely a bounce from the trough.

If you’re hoping the US market is in the midst of an upswing, it’s time to start adjusting expectations. Ford’s Mark Fields says the market has “flat-lined” since Q3 of last year, telling BusinessWeek

The consumer is feeling a bit better, but not enough to go out and go back to the old ways of spending. It gives us pause because of the tight labor market and the overall situation in the credit markets...