Consumer confidence has been one of the biggest obstacles to new-vehicle sales, and auto financiers have repeatedly cited improved consumer sentiments as a requirement for higher sales volume.



For February, consumer confidence climbed to its highest reading in three years: 70.4, according to The Conference Board. While still relatively low, the index surpassed its 64.8 reading in January and eclipsed a 46.0 reading in February 2010.



Though this recent consumer…

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With my head pounding from all the talk about layoffs, shutdowns, stalled sales, and ousted executives, I’ve got a new theory on the way out of this automotive crisis: Hand it over to the people. No, I don’t mean put Joe Consumer in charge of the Auto Task Force or appoint Jane Car-Shopper head of a domestic automaker. What we have to do is get people into dealership showrooms, ready to buy cars.



Duh, that’s obvious, Marcie. If it’s so simple, why hasn’t it worked so far? What we… Continue

For some time, lenders, dealers, and industry experts have been pointing to a lack of consumer confidence as the main culprit for dragging sales. It seems like the way to shore up consumer confidence is to get to the heart of the matter: risk.



Essentially, consumers worry that they might lose their jobs or suffer some other similar financial setback. Who wants to plunk down $25,000 for a new vehicle if they’re concerned they might be unable to repay it? I know I… Continue

Consumer confidence plunged to an all-time low this month, according to Conference Board data released today. The January reading came in at 37.7, down from 38.6 in December.



To put things in perspective, the Consumer Confidence Index was 110.3 in January 2007 and 87.9 in January 2008.



For months, consumer confidence — or the lack thereof — has been blamed for low vehicle sales figures. Consumers are just too wary about their jobs, home values, and retirement funds to even… Continue