Vijay’s Economic Indicators
While we lived in Seattle, I had to drive by 3 or 4 car dealerships on the way to work. I started to pretend to gauge the relative strength of the economy based on the density of new cars in their lots. Surprisingly it sort of worked!
Since we moved to Boulder, I obviously don’t have the same commute. But I quickly discovered a new economic indicator. On my way to work, I drive by a Walmart and then drive by a Whole Foods. The relative utilization of those parking lots is very interesting.
In the past few weeks, I’ve seen more and more cars at Walmart and fewer cars at Whole Foods. It used to be impossible to find a parking spot at Whole Foods, especially around the after work rush. The last two times I went, easy parking and no wait at the cashier.
Yesterday, I refined my metric more; the number of Toyota Priuses in the parking lot of Whole Foods vs Walmart.
It’s well known that all Prius drivers are religiously against Walmart, while Whole Foods is similar to a cathedral for hybrid drivers. In normal circumstances, you will never see a Prius at Walmart.
But yesterday I saw two Priuses at Walmart. One could be an aberration, but two?
I guess the economy really is in bad shape.
Defenestrating Thoughts from the Bivouac » The “Hot Waitress” Economic Indicator wrote:
[...] The relative density of new cars at dealerships [...]
Posted on 19-Sep-09 at 12:53 pm | Permalink
dale wrote:
priuses and walmart…makes me think of the 4 things americans want..but dont want to pay for…1) gasoline..slim profit margin..all big oil did was build a succesfull business..just like BIG COMPUTER!!yet big comp never gets dissed 2) quality daycare..we want it for $40/week..option to show up late daily with no xtra charge and fail to pay a few times/year with a shrug of shoulders 3) food…we forget this is..i believe?? number 1 govmnt subsidized sector..take away the subsidy and a gal of milk goes to $20/gallon 4) oops how can i forget…healthcare..folks still want to see the doc..but dont want to pay the $40 copay going out the office door…try that at walmart…ciao..crissys dad
Posted on 14-Oct-09 at 5:59 am | Permalink