@Mark Williams: REALLY???

You guys are drinking the Obama koolaide straight from the tap, from the sound of it. This is the fifth consecutive year of crappy economic figures--the so called shutdown was hardly the beginning of hard times!

We have the highest unemployment rate in my lifetime, despite every effort in Washington to conceal that fact. We have the sorriest prospects for any economic recovery in the last 80 years. Despite providing this administration with trillions in so called stimulus spending (much of it money borrowed from foreigners) we have infrastructure that's crumbling in most parts of the country and record high numbers of able bodied people accepting disability payments rather than real work.

Don't put this on the recent dustup in the capital. This is a big problem and Obama and his team OWN it.

I don't think that it will affect sales much. I know I don't give a crap if Washington is shut down or not when I buy a new vehicle.

The shut down cost the economy as estimated (so far/last I checked) $30 billion. You can bet the automotive industry was impacted. Not just pickups but all vehicles.

@papa jim: wow, politicized much? Nearly all economists agree that the government shutdown affected consumer confidence and reduced consumer spending. 800,000 employees not collecting checks for two weeks certainly delayed lots of plans.

Mark isn't saying that "OBAMA WAS RIGHT!!!" he is saying exactly what the reality is: crappy economy plus crappy economic events equal crappy consumer spending. It's not illogical or the first time it has played out that way.

@John: yes, you do.

I work in the Freight Industry: I can tell you that when the government shut down, the volume of freight shipping went WAY DOWN with it. Customer's that moved pretty reliably just were not. When your work is 100% commission based and your customers are not shipping, that hurts.

Everyone saw customers slip from 60 days to 90 days, everyone saw customers hold off purchase orders, everyone saw projects get put on hold. Those kinds of things affect paychecks and delay purchases. Tell yourself that this had no effect, because literally everyone who can recognize facts says it did.

I could care less what the companies sell as I not vested in any of these companies, I'm more interested in product reviews.

It's called Saturday and Sunday. There was no shutdown.

@Allen--are you kidding me?

1. The media used to be a watch-dog in this country. Today they're like a bunch of stenographers writing down whatever the White House tells them to. This Mark Williams story perfectly parrots what the press office in the White House is saying.

2. What is an economist, Allen? Definition? It's whatever he wants to call himself. A lawyer needs a degree, a doctor needs a sheepskin. A guy who writes about business can call himself a dog catcher, a butterfly collector or an economist.

Really, Allen. Are you suggesting that the economy doesn't suck out loud? It's the worst economy in my lifetime and now Obama wants to call it someone else's fault--I guess that's ok by you?

i see a whole row of ugly on that photo above.

PapaJim: we might not see trucks through the same eyes, But we definitely see the mess obalmer has made and owns! no doubt about it! He and his ACA will ruin this Country if not itself!

Biggest problem is those turds in the Tea Party and the idiots like Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. I heard Coulter say she was so happy for the shutdown and how good of a job the republicans did. Does she even realize how it affected peoples lives? What maroons. When is it good to force people to not work? I guess it's good when you have an agenda that is nothing more than making Obama look bad. How is that good for the country?
All anyone has to do is watch the news and see that the Republican party is in total disarray. They have even told that wacko Ted Cruz to sit-down and shut up.

Between the shutdown and an already slow economy plus the uncertainty about whether the bone heads in DC can ever get anything done has to have an impact on all buying.

@Dale. I never mentioned Democrat or Republican--you just did.

Do you honestly want to pay more taxes than you already do? C'mon! Are you one of the guys collecting a government check?

Since this is a trucks site, tell me, Dale, what kind of truck you drive?

Chrysler sales up 11%. Ram sales up 22%. http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2013/11/chrysler-sales-up-11-again-first-cherokees-sold

So much for poor economy republicans would want you to believe. Conservatives need to quit blaming stuff on Obama. This country is much better then it was when the last President left the white house.

Signed,
Small Business OWNER.

The problem here is INFLATION. Government policies and the Private banking cartel. They think they can save this economy
by increasing prices with large budgets and increased spending plus taxation. While wages go down and manufacturing jobs have disappeared for the good of Global economics???
When a pick up truck is reaching the 40K range well equipped
there are not going to be a lot of people able to afford it. This is the problem.....not the government shutdown. It took this great country 200 years to post its first 1 trillion dollar debt now we adding 1 trillion dollar to our debt every year..........its called insanity!!!!!!

our biggest problem is we have two parties who blame the other for everything and vote on what will make them look best at election time instead of what is best for the people. The party system is necessary for checks and balances but right now its just not working and Republicans and Democrats need to figure it out or we need a new third party to come to fruition.

@ dale milner

If you'd really want something good for the country, you'd be calling for this criminal administration to be impeached.

Chris, I agree we need a third party. We need term limits.
We need a fair tax.....so everyone participates fairly including large corporations (no more loopholes). We need a slow introduction of tariffs on foreing products to protect our jobs and bring back manufacturing.
More importantly Protect our CONSTITUTION.

David, Don't worry. Obama says that the inflation you see is just your imagination.

Prices have risen a lot. The government can deny it all it wants. I’m used to the government lying about everything.

The 2014 F-150's just jumped $1500 to $2000 on average according to posts in the F-150 forums. A 2014 F-150 FULLY loaded $45 to $50k.

By the time I buy mine in a couple of years its going to be $50k for an XLT supercab and over $50k for a supercrew that much I can tell you. This is BS!

Hell no party system is needed. People just need to grow the hell up and learn it takes compromise from everyone to better everyone.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/greatcomp.htm

I own a 12 Ram 2500 CTD. As far as wanting something good for this country, how about Mitch Mcturtle, Boner, Paul Ryan and the rest having a meeting in DC the min Obama was elected and stating that their primary goal was to keep Obama from getting re-elected. Wow that's working together. Or how about 42+ times they have tried to repeal the ACA. Give up, you lost. Get over it and move on. All this BS you hear from those right wing conservative nuts on Faux news is a joke. Talk about undermining people with lies. The republican party has nothing but a bunch of bone head clowns. I can't wait for the next election when they lose the house because of their immature school yard tactics that have cost this country jobs.
Even the Wall Street Journal which is conservative did a poll and the republicans approval rating is in the tanks. Like they say "give them a rope long enough and they'll hang themselves". If I was and thank God I'm not a republican I'd be worried. They have no one that will be capable of running for president next time. It's funny how Faux and Rush are the voice for the party, and want to make you think they are right, but yet the American people don't buy that crap. Just look at the republican approval ratings. They been dropping every month.

Why is this administration any different from the one that lied us into the Iraq war. Talk about criminal. Cheney and Rove are the two biggest criminals ever to walk in the white house.
Cheney, Rumsfeld were the two biggest liars I've ever heard. Didn't Cheney say the Irag war would only last a few months, six at the most?

@Dale This is a trucks site. Do you own a truck?

Have you EVER owned a truck. Do you actually drive a Corolla?

Read my last post. 2012 Ram 2500 CTD CC LB 4x4. Ya I own a truck.

Papa Jim, not all pickup drivers are Republicans, actually a lot aren't.

Pretty sure there isn't a litmus test in order to read or contribute to a pickup blog.

No Luke, a lot of people on here did not get past the second grade.

Biggest problem is those turds in the Tea Party and the idiots like Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. I heard Coulter say she was so happy for the shutdown and how good of a job the republicans did. Does she even realize how it affected peoples lives? What maroons. When is it good to force people to not work? I guess it's good when you have an agenda that is nothing more than making Obama look bad. How is that good for the country?
All anyone has to do is watch the news and see that the Republican party is in total disarray. They have even told that wacko Ted Cruz to sit-down and shut up.

Between the shutdown and an already slow economy plus the uncertainty about whether the bone heads in DC can ever get anything done has to have an impact on all buying.

I own a 12 Ram 2500 CTD. As far as wanting something good for this country, how about Mitch Mcturtle, Boner, Paul Ryan and the rest having a meeting in DC the min Obama was elected and stating that their primary goal was to keep Obama from getting re-elected. Wow that's working together. Or how about 42+ times they have tried to repeal the ACA. Give up, you lost. Get over it and move on. All this BS you hear from those right wing conservative nuts on Faux news is a joke. Talk about undermining people with lies. The republican party has nothing but a bunch of bone head clowns. I can't wait for the next election when they lose the house because of their immature school yard tactics that have cost this country jobs.
Even the Wall Street Journal which is conservative did a poll and the republicans approval rating is in the tanks. Like they say "give them a rope long enough and they'll hang themselves". If I was and thank God I'm not a republican I'd be worried. They have no one that will be capable of running for president next time. It's funny how Faux and Rush are the voice for the party, and want to make you think they are right, but yet the American people don't buy that crap. Just look at the republican approval ratings. They been dropping every month.

Why is this administration any different from the one that lied us into the Iraq war. Talk about criminal. Cheney and Rove are the two biggest criminals ever to walk in the white house.
Cheney, Rumsfeld were the two biggest liars I've ever heard. Didn't Cheney say the Irag war would only last a few months, six at the most?

Yes, the shutdown hurt people who were out of work. But, it also proved a point to the King O administration that the people are sick and tired of his socialist bull**** and times are changing. Sometimes you have to sacrifice for a while to do long term good for the country.

As far as truck sales go, if these greedy manufacturers weren't trying to bank $12,000 profit PER TRUCK they'd be selling like hotcakes regardless. It's nobody's fault but their own. We're in a terrible economy, we just saw the second government shutdown under a Democratic administration in two decades, people aren't working, those who are get paid peanuts, healthcare costs are skyrocketing, the middle class is expected to shouldn't the burden for the minorities who don't work and pay taxes... people can't afford $40,000 trucks.

@Luke in CO - try TTAC. The difference in blogger IQ is astonishing ;) Makes truck guys look bad.

It is amazing at how political parties get blamed for current messes. They do contribute to the mess and take credit for when things go well and point the finger when things don't. In the province where I live a study was done to see if the "Conservative" right did a better job than the "Socialist" left. They looked at government spending, deficits, job creation.
Once economic peaks and troughs were factored in the results were amazing.
- There were no differences in government spending or deficits
- The rate of job creation was the same but the only difference was where the jobs were created - conservatives = more private jobs, socialist = more government jobs.
At the end of the day - it was a wash.

Partisan political ideology gets in the way of running countries as we have seen in the USA. Both parties need to pull their heads out of their asses and fix things.
It is easy to blame Obama and the Dems for the problems we see but those problems started well before him at a time Repubs were in office.
I'm not blaming any one party and before I get called a socialist liberal, I see myself as conservative.

The USA economy is very fragile and the slightest perception of instability will hurt consumer confidence and that will decrease purchasing.

Rush Limbaugh used to be respectable knowledgeable guy back in the 80's but I think all the painkillers have gone to his head.

@everyone on today's comments:

So if I understand it correctly, everything was peaches/cream until those nasty tea party people shut down the government.

Just checking.

If you really like paying higher taxes, you can voluntarily send more to Washington next April. They are happy to have it.

Michigan Bob for president and johnny doe as vice president and our problems will be fixed! Mark my words.

GUTS

GLORY

OBAMA SUCKS

DODGE TRUCKS

GUTS

GLORY

REVOLUTIONIZING THE TRUCK MARKET

MAKING FORD AND GM OWNERS LIKE TONY CRY IN ENVY

100% PURE WHOOP ASS

TAKING THE MAJORITY OF THE MARKET SHARE SOON

RAM

GUTS
Glory
Ramming full speed into Ford and GM.

@Lou BC--Completely agree. Politicians are still politicians and will promise anything to get elected. At least prostitutes are not trying to deceive anyone and are honest about their profession.

@papa jim--Government workers are taxpayers and consumers as well and many have delayed purchases during the shutdown because they did not know how long the shutdown would last and if they would get paid. Very easy to vilify all government workers and blame them for everything that is wrong with our country. Yes there are bad government employees as there are bad employees in any business. To blame Obama for everything wrong is just as wrong as to not blame him at all. It took us years to get in the economic mess that the US is in and it will take us years to get out of it. I completely agree with you on the infrastructure--rebuilding roads, bridges, power grids, sewer , water, and electric lines needs to be a top priority and would put many back to work.

Any uncertainty will affect consumer behavior and thus affect the overall economy.

@Jeff another brilliant post, Jeff.

Who said anything about government workers? I did not.

I bitched about the media and reporters laying the blame for a non existent "crisis" at the feet of the President's political opponents. The government employees are getting their back pay.

The economy sucks, Jeff. The media will now blame another crappy Christmas season on the president's enemies.

Such BS.

November 1, 2013 - 9:09 am ET
DETROIT (Reuters) -- Ford Motor Co. is recalling 2,618 Focus Electric cars because of potential loss of power to the wheels while driving.

We're gonna spread happiness
We're gonna spread freedom
Obama's gonna change it
Obama's gonna lead 'em

We're gonna change it
And rearrange it
We're gonna change the world.

November 1st : Ford is recalling about 3,100 F-Series ambulances because the engines can stop unexpectedly.

The F-350, F-450 and F-550 “Super Duty” ambulances have 6.7-Liter diesel engines. They’re from the 2011 and 2012 model years.

Two needless wars & greedy Wall Street put this economy in the dumper.
So far the only thing that I see is a party that seems to shut down this President, no matter the cost to America.
I may not agree with alot of his views, but he was elected & re-elected.
I didn't care for the last President either, but he was elected & thats it.
The difference here, he didn't run into the obstruction like this one has.
That being said, these two parties need to come together & figuire out what to do with lack of manufacturing jobs & rebuilding Infrastructure.
Just remember this, when someone plays the morals, guns, race, relegion, entitlements, card. It is a distraction for our countries real problems.

Papa Jim, you must eat out of your toilet bowl because you are full of it.

If the news didn't constantly remind me the government was shut down, I would have had no idea. It didn't affect my day-to-day or purchasing decisions at all. And based on preliminary sales figures, it doesn't look like it affected too many others either as sales were still up. And Dale, the democrats' and president's approval numbers are dropping like a rock too.

@papa jim--Thank you for your compliment, I appreciate it. Agreed the economy is still weak and the media posts falsehoods. Anything new besides that.

"November 1st : Ford is recalling about 3,100 F-Series ambulances because the engines can stop unexpectedly.

The F-350, F-450 and F-550 “Super Duty” ambulances have 6.7-Liter diesel engines. They’re from the 2011 and 2012 model years."

Thanks for the update TROLLZILLA!!

@Frank, One of the district fire fighters smelled smoke and discovered flames shooting out from under the front of the ambulance . The were able to get the first response fire truck out of the truck bay next to the ambulance . and knock down the flames .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8bHDmoQn0I

I hope everyone here realizes that the "government shutdown" only affected 17% of the government. That means 83% wasn't affected.

Do you also realize the federal government effectively shuts down every weekend and on every holiday? GASP!

this article has already been shot down, since the numbers are out and the big three had good sales gains, if they post them here soon you will see otherwise just surf the net, its already out

Hemi, That vid has nothing to do with this recall. The recall is for a faulty sensor and it will be replaced.

I am starting to worry about you. What do you obsess about fires constantly and how does this help you in any way?. Anyone can start posting all of the Ram fire videos..

Jeep recall over fire hazard being delayed for reasons unknown
Brittany Hillen,

Oct 30th 2013

Earlier this year, Chrysler agreed to recall over a million Jeeps due to a fire hazard that has, to date, claimed a few dozen lives. Such a recall came after the auto maker originally rejected a recall proposal by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, having stated at that time that the pegged vehicles were “safe and not defective.” For reasons unknown, the recall has not taken place despite several months having passed.

http://www.slashgear.com/jeep-recall-over-fire-hazard-being-delayed-for-reasons-unknown-30303661/

"For such a long delay to take place is unusual, reports the New York Times, which spoke with a safety consultant in Maryland. It is speculated that the proposed solution — trailer hitches — are inadequate for the problem."

--

Oh, snap!!!

The partial government shutdown did not deter pickup buyers. October sales are above September. - Mark Williams

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2013/11/best-selling-pickup-trucks-october-2013.html