Things are pretty grim.

[F Body]

It would seem that our economy hasn't slowed down, it's stopped
GM have just announced 8 unpaid down days in October which is effectively a 3 day week
and it looks like it's going to get a lot worse as we go into November , this recession looks like it's going to get even worse than the 1970's one
This of course also effects all our suppliers & transport companies etc, I can see many prized vehicles being sold over the next year just so that people can make ends meet
Let's hope I'm wrong and things improve sooner rrather than later

[HardRockCamaro]

Fingers crossed it wont get that bad.

Fuel costs are dropping which should lower inflation giving some room for the Bank of England to be able to consider lowering the interest rate.

[Incursus]

Indeed"  Not heard anything about our customers (JLR, toyota etc) reducing output yet but its probably only a matter of time as Europe auto sales were down 15.6% in August

[ianjpage]

sorry to hear that martyn - not a good sign at all

[Roadkill]

We're a bit "up and down" here, at the mo . . . nothing terrible . . yet.

[philoldsmobile]

Quoting: HardRockCamaro

Fuel costs are dropping which should lower inflation giving some room for the Bank of England to be able to consider lowering the interest rate.

and if moron brain brown had lowerd the tax on fuel 3 months ago, inflation would already be lower, and this slow down may have had a substantially smaller blow.

[Cunning Plan]

Quoting: philoldsmobile

and if moron brain brown had lowerd the tax on fuel 3 months ago, inflation would already be lower, and this slow down may have had a substantially smaller blow.

[Flip Martian]

While I agree the government's fuel duty is too high, I don't see how any government would respond to oil companies' blatant profiteering by lowering their own duties. Its the oil companies everyone should be having a go at...

[sixpack2639]

Quoting: Flip Martian

Its the oil companies everyone should be having a go at...

[Roadkill]

But, again, the oil companies AREN'T actually making much profit at all on Petrol.

You can't ask them to provide petrol at a loss just because they're doing so well in other chemical productions.

BP for example make just a few pence on a litre of fuel . . . any salesman would tell you that's a crap profit margin.

Why should the fuel companies PAY to provide petrol when 64% of the cost is going in the governments holiday fund ?

[Flip Martian]

Because they could afford to plough some their billion quid profits back into subsidising it temporarily - they could always reach an agreement with government for a like for like decrease or something. "we can afford to freeze the price for this amount of time if you agree to drop the tax by this amount".

What am I saying?! We live in a capitalist "gotta make a profit-gotta INCREASE a profit" world...

The price of petrol rockets and you still have oil companies publishing increased profits - profits in numbers we can't comprehend how big they are! We're all being taken for mugs and there's nothing we seem to be able to do about it.

[Roadkill]

Just think of the Government as a company.

They make the biggest profit of all for doing absolutely F*ck all !

The oil companies are angels when you look at it like that.

[Flip Martian]

Govt doesn't make a profit - we're borrowing more money to make ends meet than ever....

[Cunning Plan]

Quoting: Flip Martian

Because they could afford to plough some their billion quid profits back into subsidising it temporarily

As RK says, its the goverment that has made the fuel costs so high and they *could* lower the duty OR tax on fuel to help alleviate the situation because of the spend..  I think FB on here posted up the goverment spend last year and it showed a 54 billion pound 'black hole'.  So...  Where and why has that money been spent or why hasnt it been spent diluting the costs of motoring?

I think the issue is that owning a car costs so much money in tax (which is going up and up) and fuel which has not one but two taxes on it WHICH the public wouldnt mind so much if it was spent in areas where it is needed such as BACK into the fuel economy to fill the tax hole that is made by lowing the duty levels on fuel OR putting more police on the roads to get un-insured drivers of the road etc etc.....

[Roadkill]

Quoting: Flip Martian

Govt doesn't make a profit - we're borrowing more money to make ends meet than ever....

Exactly !

Maybe we should put BP's Chairman in as Prime Minister.