While automaker sales have been boosted by the government car sales incentive, where consumers can trade in their older cars for a newer model, this boost might not last long according to Standard & Poor’s recent report.

“Only a sustained recovery of consumer demand will bring a lasting rise in vehicle sales,” S&P credit analyst Maria Bissinger said. “What’s more, government support comes with strings attached that could ultimately hinder the industry’s necessary restructuring process. Such a process needs to tackle global overcapacity, industrywide consolidation, high capital intensity and automakers’ fixed-cost structures.”

Personally, I do not see my neighbors rushing out to buy hobby slot cars, let alone a brand new vehicle. Most Americans are being a little more frugal. Eventually the sales incentive will end and the automakers will be back in the same boat they were before. Instead of relying on sales to balance their books they also need to consider cost cutting measures as well.