Are HIGHER Interest Rates And DECREASING Incentives Slamming The Brakes On 2018 Auto Sales?

In a word, yes.

Then again, September/October sales are usually not much to brag about. Typically there is an August sell off and a "December to remember" and in between can be hit or miss. Incentives remain good on some models and on others the tap has been turned off.

Fewer people are going for 96 month loans on their Mitsubishi Mirages these days.

Car prices are high and the interest rate hikes have spooked the market. Stock prices are moving around and even thought the economy is roaring, these hikes are causing some funk... Also the mid-terms will move things forward as they should or cause things to slow or stop. I think folks are waiting to see... BTW: nobody watches CNBC..

I know a number of people who are very nervous that the Socialist-Fascist Party aka the Democrats will get elected and ruin the economic boom by going for regressive taxation. If there isn't a big Democrat win--and it looks like it could be minor at best to a bust--the market will calm down.

Completely agree... should the anarchy, open border, anti-citizen, anger party of anti-America socialist ideas, take either the House or the Senate everything will grind to a halt. Should that happen though I think interest rates will not go up in December as has been rumored. Should the Republican Party retain all 3 branches, interest rates are likely to go up in Dec but with 2 more years of R control, the economy will continue to grow, and America will prosper. The biggest factor in the economy at this moment IMO is the uncertainly in 11 days... Tom, the expansion has been going on because the American economy is resilient and is powerful enough to grow through consumption. 1% growth is not an expansion, its growth, but not expansion. Words mean things... Obutt didn't expand the economy, he did everything he could to kill it and yet it still grew (the new norm, jobs are gone forever, you didn't build that Gubment did).… Bill Clintstone did the same thing in the 90’s with big regulations and tax increases his first 2 years(campaigned as a “New Democrats” but are the worst form of leftists…) and lost the Congress for the 1st time in 40 years, anything good from the 90’s is due to Newt and the Republicans that forced Bubba’s hand… he was however, smart enough to let it happen and take credit for it…

did car sales tank when rates were at this point in the past? no because they were considered to be a good deal then. so stop with the weak ass troll headlines.

Actually - I don't believe it is high prices - there are plenty of less expensive cars out there - WHat I believe is that the market for new cars has saturated for a while - with so many limited by already having bought their new car recently - along with some who never actually bought a car at all.

The current economic expansion has lasted 10 years - without a real correction of several months or more- and it is likely that this will be a problem in the future - but right now - Everyone on my road that drives - has a new car in the last 3 years - and I live in an area where people keep their cars until they die before getting a new one.