Despite all the gloom and doom, sales of motor vehicles surged around the world, and in many cases, at record levels.
Toyota sold 9.75 million cars, an increase of 22.6 per cent.
Buyers returned to the Corolla maker after the company recovered to full production following the Japanese tsunami.
It also undertook some heavy discounting to attract drivers after some bad press sparked by unfortunate recalls in the year prior.
Rivals, General Motors which sold 9.28 million vehicles was last year's second most popular brand, followed by Volkswagon which saw 9.07 million of its models roll out show room floors.
Also impressive, were record 2012 global sales for Japanese brands Nissan which sold 4.94 million cars and Honda which offloaded 3.82 million people movers.
Car sales are seen as an early indicator of general economic health.
The purchase of a car, is likely to be a person's second biggest after a home, and is often only made when there is job security and thus confidence such a large purchase can be paid off.
So given these sales, is the global economy stronger than what it seems?
Last week, the International Monetary Fund downgraded some of its forecasts for economic growth.
It sees a contraction in euro area GDP by 0.2 per cent, while Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Russia should grow by at least 3 per cent.
The US is expected to see a 2 per cent expansion.
Asia will continue to power ahead, with India and ASEAN economies predicted to grow by at least 5 per cent and China by more than 8 per cent.
Overall, the IMF did downgrade its global economic growth forecast by 0.1 per cent, but its still expecting a reasonable 3.5 per cent expansion.
There were no specific targets made for Australia, but the latest estimates by the Reserve Bank has Australian economic growth at 2.75 per cent for this year.
Incidentally, car sales in Australia also surged to record levels in 2012 according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
1.1 million vehilces were sold, an increase of more than 10 per cent.
Locally, Toyota is also the most popular brand.
