Hummer sales down 61.7% this month.

All car sales are down though. Inflation doesn't bite necessarily, but a rapid change in the rate of inflation does - and gas fits that profile. Fords big seller, the F-150, got outsold by Japanese passenger cars for the first time i na long while.

There is also news that GM is considering closing four truck plants in North America. The problem for the automotive industry is that it cannot respond to fast market fluctuations. The lead time for any platform of factory is often ten years. Even integrating a new part into a car can take three years.

Rapid changes in consumer buying patterns can leave car manufacturers with a lot of wasted capital expense which is no longer making money or bringing in revenue. The situation car manufacturers are in now are the perils of a capital intensive and heavily regulated industry.

Cam Riley: South Sea Republic. Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic.