an– On car sales, I’m not sure I understand your point. If sales are down in this country, sales are down. Doesn’t matter if sales of imports are up and further, doesn’t that actually make things worse for the U.S. economy, not better? Sure, maybe the Japanese will buy some factories and create new jobs, but maybe the overall impact is still negative.

I believe powayseller’s point is that people buying fewer new cars has historically been a leading indicator of recessions. The mix doesn’t matter, it’s just the fact that people are buying fewer cars.