The government fuel economy standards require unprecedented changes in the size and expensive technologies in vehicles.
The North American used market is roughly 2.5-times bigger than the new car market. That ratio is not going down soon – given the Obama Administration’s recovery from the Republican-induced Great Recession of 2008- 009. Record vehicle sales in 2015 and thus far in 2016, as well as strong years in 2012-2014, means there will be pricing pressures from the increasing number of off-lease vehicles entering the used car market.
The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) is holding steady its sales forecast of 17.7 million new cars and light trucks for 2016. (U.S. Vehicle Sales to Remain Strong in 2016? or Month of Reckoning? Ford, GM, Toyota U.S. Sales Down in July)
Add in the so-called “disruptive market participants” in the retailing of used cars, original equipment manufacturers’ (OEMs’) actively promoting used cars through extended warranties, and cheap credit as the Fed keeps printing money to bailout Wall Street billionaires and you have a classic buyers’ market.
The only question is when does this bubble burst?
See:
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
