http://www.spiegel.de/international/...592658,00.html
This covers the problems in the Germany auto industry.
"More than 1.5 million workers in Germany depend on the automobile industry for their jobs. But that industry is now facing one of its worst crises ever. Respected giants BMW and Mercedes are particularly exposed as sales plummet."
I think the stats for October mentioned in the article were that US auto sales were down 32%, down 15% in Europe.
Will someone remind me why consumerism was such a bad thing? It seems like there could be some benefits here.