Subject: Re: A trip to the mall
This, of course is just anecdotal, but spooky none the less.

You saw the BLS report on April personal savings rate? Over the past year, the rate has been wobbling between 3 and 4%. In April it was 2.6%

Ford Motor reported May sales today. Another down month. Ford management blamed it on the Escape and Corsair being discontinued. Farley dropped those models because they were dragging his ATP and GP metrics down. But F-series trucks, Ford's absolute goldmine, were down 13% too.

Ford Sales Plummet Nearly 14% Even With Employee Pricing For Everyone

Ford’s first quarter sales fell 8.8%, so the company brought back employee pricing for all on May 1. The offer runs through July 6 and consumers can save around $2,000 on a number of models including the Bronco, Bronco Sport, and Mustang.

Unfortunately for Ford, the incentive isn’t working as combined May sales tumbled 13.6% compared to a year ago. The automaker sold 190,828 vehicles last month, which was down 30,131 units from 2025.

The drop can largely be blamed on Ford’s own decisions as sales of the discontinued Escape plunged 80.3% to 3,427 units. It’s also worth noting, once again, that Escape buyers aren’t migrating to the Bronco Sport as sales of the crossover dropped 8.3%.

Speaking of declines, the Expedition dropped 24.4%, while the F-Series fell 13.3%. The Ranger plunged 23.3%, while the Mustang saw a slight 1.8% decline.

https://www.carscoops.com/2026...

Folks are tapped out. They can't afford a $60,000 pickup, nor the $4.50/gallon gas to feed the thing.

Steve