CNN iReport

I hate to see Pontiac go. I worked as a car salesman from March 2008 till November 2008. Cars sales during this time, hit the perfect storm.

Gas prices were skyrocketing, credit was increasingly harder to get and values of trucks and SUVs had plummeted. The American dollar was falling so gas prices jumped to over $4 a gallon! It’s hard to regulate an industry objectively when you profit from the increases.

Banks were tightening credit. FICA scores were dropping. Debt to Income (DTI) was much more critically scrutinized. Because the value of trucks had fallen by 50% or more, most buyers looking to trade found themselves "Upside Down".

“Trade- in value” had dropped at the auto auctions. Kelly Blue Book and Edmunds trade value hadn’t caught up with the rapidly falling trade market. Customers thought their cars were worth more according to these sources and believed dealers were cheating them on their car’s value Sub prime became impossible to finance I saw the cars that GM was making come across the showroom. They were on track to meet the future standards. This crisis just didn’t give them enough time.

I believe had the Federal Reserve Bank not raised fed fund rates for 17 times in a row, from 2004 till 2006, this crisis would have been adverted. Then by lowering rates aggressively in 2007 the feds caused a run on commercial paper which lead to the selling of MBS and the housing crisis. \Auto Industry was caught between a rock and a hard place. All my clients that bought Pontiacs were very satisfied.