Let's Not Bring Back Old Stereotypes

Spending a substantial portion of my youth around blue-collar Bayonne, New Jersey, one would think it would be the epitome of the "Buy American" crowd in the 1980s. 

However, you would be shocked to know how many people told me, as a kid, to "buy Japanese, kid. The workers commit 'hara-kiri' if they make a bad car over there, while all the American workers want to do here is take coffee and cigarette breaks." I am sure they were half-joking or just blowing off steam. But when you hear it as a kid it sticks with you. 

Both Ford and GM, respectively below on their bearish-looking daily charts, report earnings within the next two weeks. Neither chart is bullish, and both look like actionable shorts barring massive earnings rallies above 2023 highs, year-to-date. 

For all of the attention that Tesla gets in the auto industry, it may very well be Ford and GM which telegraph the health of the consumer for big ticket auto purchases...or lack thereof. 

And right now it is sure looking like the latter.