Times are tough when the sweet tooth of Ford's Mustang isn't enough to get buyers up off the couch. We've talked before of Ford's dismal sales numbers lately, but you know the economy sucks when Mrs. Fields Cookies files bankruptcy and Hershey jacks up the price of a candy bar.

Like Henry Ford, Debbi Fields started her own business doing what she knew best. Her famous homemade cookies won her legions of fans. Despite the bankruptcy filing, the company, founded in 1977, will keep on baking and dealing with rising fuel and food prices as best it can.

Meanwhile Hershey, on the other side of the country, announced an average 11% price increase, for much the same reasons as Mrs. Fields.

And Ford? Well, total sales for July 2007 were down almost 12% from a year ago and light truck sales dropped 22%.

If it was just Ford, you could argue it's quality and brand issues. But when cookies and chocolate sales are hurting, and profits are down everywhere, the economy is a problem far beyond Detroit. Ford can work on quality, I suppose, but there's not much you can do to improve Mrs. Fields' cookies.

It all comes down to profits, money, quality and the economy.

For Hershey and Mrs. Fields, just as for Ford and GM and Chrysler, turning the economy around is what it will take to improve the bottom line in the US marketplace. Until then, buy carefully.

And stay away from manufacturers who try to take away your legal right to go to Court when their cars turn out to be lemons, too (are you listening Hyundai?).

Got a lemon? Call or email us. We know how to squash them. That's what we've been doing since 1978.