Is the car market still a barometer for the economy?

[wearthefoxhat]

my take on the (limited) consensus here is that leasing (if researhed, shopped and market matched) is probably the way fwd.

one more facet (not really leasing related, more current thinking) is that environmental factors really are starting to guide decision making, rather than the pocket. owning and selling of cars is therefore becoming slightly shady, especially if they are having an (especially) negative environmental impact...

.. in other news, oil is beginning to escalate friction between net producres and net consumers..

Replace oil and find a way where a battery cell never needs recharging...that would make them sit up and take notice....

[Big Bad Barney]

I'm concerned about this desire to need new things all the time. A new car even an eco one is more damaging than running an old oil burner by the time the entire manufacturing process is taken into account, from mining and plastics production, through manufacturing, to distribution and even media and sales related footprint. Planetary resources are dwindling and now everyone wants a new car every year instead of every 10, how can that be justified?

If it keeps the populace happy? Isn't that justification enough

I only ever buy depreciated cars. So I don't know the ins and outs of leasing. But to me the fact that leasing companies run at a profit, and leased cars still depreciates, means that there are either tax breaks on leasing (governments interfering etc) as Dallas says with mobile phones. or the lessee pays the depreciation anyway...

I guess if there are tax breaks, one would have to take it up with the government

I'd be pretty sure the consensus by smart people would be that the desire for new things is unlikely to make anyone happy unless there is an unlimited supply of new things that never ends...(and even then doubt that would lead to happiness)...so I think you'd probably be right to be concerned for the youth learning this mentality......