Leave it to GM to design an invisible aluminum that would still require hiding...

The few shops that I see with a true sales professional on the service desk do very well. They educate the customer about what’s wrong now, what they’ll probably have to fix in the next 6 months, and they’re honest about problems that can’t be fixed (like lots of rot).

I’ve heard of it. I think the easy credit and ridiculously long terms have kept sales increases coming longer than they otherwise would have, but it’s still a cyclical market overall. There are factors that influence the length of each part of the cycle, but it will never be steadily in one direction or the other…

Interesting comparison between the Civic and 1980 Escort. I’m at work and didn’t have time to look into that myself, so thank you!

A lot of people in the lower brackets pay virtually nothing as it is (well, for federal income anyway) but it would be interesting to see what the effect would be of eliminating federal income tax entirely below a higher threshold, such as $100k/year for an individual.

Interestingly, some research has shown that raising or lowering the top income tax rate has no discernible effect on overall economic growth, but is very clearly linked to the amount of income inequality. The higher the top tax rate, the more equal the growth is across the economic spectrum.

Very good points. For me this just reinforces the notion that more finance-related lessons should be required in our schools. It’s shocking how blind so many people are to the actual cost of things once interest is added in. Many people end up in debt because they have to, but many end up there because of bad,…

They may have trouble at a regular bank, but many repair shops have access to lines of credit for their customers (such as a Napa or Pronto car care center) and there are also payday loan operations. Sure the interest rate there sucks, but it’s no different than a lot of the buy-here-pay-here places. Maybe there’s a…

I have wondered the same thing. Our driver education and licensing is way, way too lax in my opinion. But also, I realize that if these things weren’t made standard then the more responsible drivers would end up paying more through higher insurance, etc. And also, we’d all probably pay a LOT more if the government…

I can appreciate not having a few grand just laying around, but a loan is a loan. Why get a $10,000+ loan for a car (which will depreciate) when you can get a smaller loan to repair the car you already have?

Legitimate question: If they’re so greedy as to hold back wages for their lower tier employees so their own “net” equals a certain figure, why wouldn’t they simply keep the extra dough for themselves when their own tax burden goes down? Wouldn’t they then get used to this new, higher “net” and give themselves another…

The insane loan terms and credit availability are part of it. Kind of like what happened with college tuition.

On a related note, I see people facing this decision at auto repair shops where it’ll cost $1-2k to repair something (like a complete four-wheel brake job with calipers, etc.) and they’ll decide to trade it in instead.

1st Gear: Obviously rising income inequality is very bad, however I think it’s incorrect to blame that on a downturn in new car sales. Auto sales are cyclical, and as you stated we just came off the longest-ever streak of year-over-year increases.

I can relate to this. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say that they’re the BEST way to listen to music in the car, but I do regret selling most of my CDs a while back. I now have hundreds of songs on my phone, but I can’t remember the last time I listened a whole album front to back so I feel like something is…

Lots of Forza Horizon 3. Still have 80 roads left to find, and about half of the smashable signs and barn finds!

I personally think it’s a sweet song depending on whose version it is, but it’s just overplayed.

What I don’t like about it is that it makes me think of Vince Vance, the guy who wrote it, and the campy, God-awful show of his that I saw at a county fair many years ago. The show was painful to watch and felt like it was…

I’ve always enjoyed the song. It’s light-hearted and fun when so many of the other songs are so serious and/or depressing. It also helps that it hasn’t really ever been covered, so it’s not overplayed.

I like Infiniti’s current design language, and I can see pieces of it in the shot above. Hopefully this is a look at a new Q50 or Q70. I want to like the Q50, but it feels too cramped inside currently compared to other vehicles in its class. Hearing them talk about a “long cabin” and better powertrain packaging makes…

That’s good info, thanks! I imagine it varies from one manufacturer to the next based on the types of inputs they’re using for the system. It would be an interesting real-world test for Jalopnik or other automotive outlets to perform. I’d be far more likely to shop a brand whose systems performed properly all of the…