One part “I live in an area of the country where owning a car is a necessity” and one part “I need people to think I’m successful.”
With a giant dollop of “the car is part of my identity.” It’s how Americans conceptualize themselves in society. That’s why we have emotional-support pickup trucks, “Jeep people,” every first-generation Asian citizen has a Honda Accord, minivans symbolize emasculation, et cetera. Honestly, sometimes I think that the mental image of “person” in the American mind has four wheels.
I drive a white 2012 Ford Fiesta. It is a “woman’s car.” I bought it off my sister for $2500 a year ago. It is easy to maintain and gets good gas mileage. I give no fucks what people think of me driving in that car.
Minivans didn’t deserve such a fall off in reputation :(
Bring back the shaggin’ wagon.
Not reported in the article but related is the lengthening loan terms. Edmunds is currently reporting 69.1 months for the average loan term. That means even more people are reaching for 72 month loans instead of the typical 60 month term.
Cars are so expensive that it’s no longer possible for the average American to pay off their car in 5 years.
Part of this is economics as we’re seeing unfold everywhere. But the 6 or 7-year loan term thing has been creeping towards normalcy for a long time now.
The end-game is rent-seeking behavior: squeeze people until they’re always paying you. It’s luxury cars that are trash after 7 years for spendy types (sooner if they discontinue remote enabled features), and forever paying a loan/lease for the rest of us.
Meanwhile, the used “dumb”-car market is looking mighty tasty right now.
Car dependency is a ($50k + OpEx) tax you pay to the auto industry…
maybe if we frame it as a tax, people will hate it more
Tariffs seem popular with the right, they voted for them and seem to love they’re paying more for products so don’t count on it
Where, Cocks Automative, Where? World? Us? Georgia? Which Georgia?
