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Smoke on Cars Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke shares his insights on macroeconomic trends, business cycles, demand and the economic factors influencing the automotive industry today.
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Smoke On Cars
4 min read
Auto Market Weekly Summary 06/16/2025 Key Highlights: Inflation data has yet to show much of an impact from tariffs, as the consumer price index (CPI) was softer than expected again in May. Auto loan credit availability improved in May as all channels and all lender types loosened credit access. Auto loan performance was mixed, with 60-day+ delinquencies rising and defaults falling in May. Inflation Inflation data has yet to show much… Read Article
Auto Market Weekly Summary Market Insights Smoke on Cars Economy & Trends
5 min read
Cox Automotive Auto Market Report: June 10 06/10/2025 Cox Automotive’s Auto Market Report video delivers a comprehensive analysis of the current automotive market. Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke leads our effort to translate data and trends into actionable insights. This video covers a wide range of topics, including consumer spending patterns, consumer sentiment, retail vehicle sales, financing rates, supply dynamics, pricing trends and leading indicators from Cox Automotive’s extensive data ecosystem. Download this week’s presentation… Read Article
Auto Market Report Market Insights Smoke on Cars Economy & Trends
3 min read
Auto Market Weekly Summary 06/09/2025 Key Highlights: The labor market remains resilient but is clearly slowing. The new-vehicle market is adjusting to price sensitivity with increased discounting. Used-vehicle sales softened in May, but year-over-year trends remain positive. Labor Market The employment report for May was mostly better than expected, but reflects slowing job growth as the economy adjusts to tariffs and much slower immigration. Employers added 139,000 jobs in May, exceeding… Read Article
Auto Market Weekly Summary Market Insights Smoke on Cars Economy & Trends
4 min read
Auto Market Weekly Summary 06/02/2025 Key Highlights: Consumer spending on motor vehicles and parts declined 0.6% in April, easing back after a sharp 9.8% surge in March, suggesting a return to more typical demand levels. Vehicle purchase intent improved in May, with plans to buy a vehicle in the next six months reaching their highest level since December. Real personal income growth and a rising savings rate point to stronger household… Read Article
Auto Market Weekly Summary Market Insights Smoke on Cars Economy & Trends
5 min read
Cox Automotive Auto Market Report: May 27 05/27/2025 Cox Automotive’s Auto Market Report video delivers a comprehensive analysis of the current automotive market. Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke leads our effort to translate data and trends into actionable insights. This video covers a wide range of topics, including consumer spending patterns, consumer sentiment, retail vehicle sales, financing rates, supply dynamics, pricing trends and leading indicators from Cox Automotive’s extensive data ecosystem. Download this week’s presentation… Read Article
Auto Market Report Market Insights Smoke on Cars Economy & Trends
3 min read
Auto Market Weekly Summary 05/27/2025 Key Highlights: Existing home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.00 million in April, matching Great Recession lows, even as inventory rose 20.8% year over year and prices increased 1.8%. Continuing jobless claims rose to 1.90 million, reflecting slower hiring, but overall unemployment trends remain below pre-pandemic levels. Auto loan defaults surged 20.1% month over month in April, pushing the annualized default rate… Read Article
Auto Market Weekly Summary Market Insights Smoke on Cars Economy & Trends
4 min read
Auto Market Weekly Summary 05/19/2025 Key Highlights: While the Consumer Price Index reported a 0.8% decline in used vehicle prices and flat new vehicle pricing in April, Cox Automotive observed gains in both wholesale and retail used prices as well as rising new retail vehicle prices. Auto retail sales underperformed in April, with a slight monthly dip but strong year-over-year growth. Consumer sentiment toward vehicle purchases improved in May, driven by… Read Article
Auto Market Weekly Summary Market Insights Smoke on Cars Economy & Trends
5 min read
Cox Automotive Auto Market Report: May 13 05/13/2025 Cox Automotive’s Auto Market Report video delivers a comprehensive analysis of the current automotive market. Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke leads our effort to translate data and trends into actionable insights. This video covers a wide range of topics, including consumer spending patterns, consumer sentiment, retail vehicle sales, financing rates, supply dynamics, pricing trends and leading indicators from Cox Automotive’s extensive data ecosystem. Download this week’s presentation… Read Article
Auto Market Report Market Insights Smoke on Cars Economy & Trends
3 min read
Auto Market Weekly Summary 05/12/2025 Key Highlights: The new-vehicle sales pace declined slightly in April but remained up substantially year over year as buyers were motivated to buy ahead of tariff-related increases to prices. The used market saw month-over-month declines in sales volume but gains year over year. Used-vehicle prices increased. The Fed left interest rate policy unchanged as it waits to see evidence of inflation and labor market deterioration from… Read Article
Auto Market Weekly Summary Market Insights Smoke on Cars Economy & Trends
3 min read
The Fed Is Playing the Waiting Game, and Car Buyers Are Likely To Do the Same 05/07/2025 The Fed left monetary policy unchanged today at the conclusion of their third scheduled meeting of 2025. No changes have been made so far this year. This meeting did not include updated forecasts or dot plots, leaving the financial markets with little new information. The market has been more optimistic about rate cuts in 2025 than the Fed’s position. The median expectation for rate cuts communicated… Read Article
Market Insights Smoke on Cars Commentary & Voices Economy & Trends

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