This is what the Germans call "nicht gut," what the Italians describe as "molto male," and what in English we might call "Oooooooh that's not a good sign:"

U.S. new-car sales dipped below an annualized 13 million vehicles in May, prompting analysts at RBC to say they are at "recessionary levels," although demand is still heated and auto makers offer few if any incentives to those looking to buy a new vehicle.

By RBC's reckoning, the May U.S. light-vehicle seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of sales came in at 12.8 million vehicles, below RBC's forecast of 13.4 million vehicles and down from April's 14.6 million.

So people still want cars, they're just...not buying them.

To be sure, we're not officially in an official recession yet...but if we were, it would look a whole lot like it does today:

The market "appears increasingly concerned about the economy, inflation, rising interest rates and a recession," the analysts, led by Joseph Spak, said in their note.

"We have not yet seen any evidence of demand destruction. But, if a recession were to occur, it's likely that ‘recessionary' levels of demand are in the (12 million to 13 million) range."

So we're not experiencing a recession, we're just experiencing most of the things we'd be experiencing if a recession were happening.

Not exactly the most promising economic outlook we've ever seen. Buckle up, folks.

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