BAD CAR STATISTICS

Recession-like circumstances in the United States is a hard issue to get one's head around, even with Issue #1 on CNN every afternoon and constant depressing numbers related to the housing market. Yes, it's obvious that the automotive market is, in personal terms, discouraged and disgusting. North of the border, Canada's economic situation is increasingly worrying but isn't displaying obvious signs in the way American struggles are obvious.

Some Numbers help describe the atmosphere all too adequately. They're below.

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73 - average number of days for a complete turnover of new-car inventory at a U.S. dealership at present

9 - estimated percentage drop in total American car sales this year

900,000 - drop in production by General Motors in Canada, Mexico, and the United States in the third quarter of 2008 

25 - percentage drop in planned production for the third quarter of this year by Ford Motor Company compared with the third quarter of 2007

215,000 - total inventory of Ford F-series pickups as of July 1st

3 - months of stopped production of the Toyota Tundra and Toyota Sequoia beginning in early August

10,238 - total sales of the Toyota Tundra in June of 2008, a drop of 52.9% compared with June of 2007

90 - average days of supply of trucks

41 - average days of supply of cars