Boosted by the government's "cash for clunkers" program, Ford Motor Co. in July posted its first monthly sales increase in more than a year and a half. In so doing, Ford outpaced other automakers, which appeared to benefit from the trade-in stimulus, but not to the same degree. Honda Motor Co., for example, said its sales declined 17% in July. That's still a marked improvement over previous months -- year to date Honda is off more than 30% -- but still far behind Ford's results.
The end result has been a 25% jump in Ford's stock over the past two weeks and the "green shootists" to come out screaming. But, as the WSJ asks, can it last?
It’s an important point that — thematically — extends to the economy as a whole. Are the improvements visible in recent economic and earnings reports sustainable? Or are they merely the fruits of an extraordinary government effort to goose the economy that will crumble as soon as there are signs government support is going away?
Source: AutoBlog
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