As Cars Burn In France, The Industry Of Hope Is Booming

Wolf Richter   www.testosteronepit.com   www.amazon.com/author/wolfrichter New Year’s Eve was the main event. And it didn’t disappoint: 1,193 vehicles were burned in France in the course of a few hours, said Interior Minister Manuel Valls. Up 4% from 2009, when 1,147 vehicles were burned. A tradition no one has the balls to explain. In the days leading up to the annual rite, Valls had promised "complete transparence," in contrast to the Sarkozy government, which had hushed up the numbers since 2009. But it’s a year-round event: 40,244 vehicles were burned during 2011 and 43,568 the year before. Even Valls was “shocked” by these numbers. But the massive destruction of functional vehicles (most of them paid for by insurance) wasn’t nearly enough to bail out the automakers. New vehicle sales for the year 2012 dropped 13.9% fr...