1/9/2023 0 Comments Jibber jabbing![]() But besides, who the hell cares? We’ve long gone past knowing how to value a product. But any large company has to have a lot of people to spread the blame around when a product is a failure (meaning fails to reach somewhat arbitrary goals), and given the restrictive job market these days, that doesn’t come cheap. In the case of Jeep they have a lot of aftermarket “designers” who do most of the early product testing, so that probably helps. But the labor to design it, engineer the production line to accommodate it and (mostly) the marketing are getting more expensive. It’s all cheap materials, getting cheaper all the time. The basic package ought to be available for under $20k. This is jibber-jabbing, drooling madness. ![]() The thing will sticker for almost $40k – to start. One can almost see the Jenga Tower beginning to lean, eh? But Jeep loads the thing up with gadgets and amenities – because most people insist on them and can get financing. ![]() I just finished writing a reply to a reader who asked about the new Jeep Gladiator – which is a Wrangler with a small bed. The problem is one of assuming massive, unsustainable debt to “keep up” with the “latest thing.” There is nothing wrong, per se, with gadgets. They probably also have an expensive smartphone and other gadgets. Yet most of these people drive a late-model vehicle. I’ve read that more than half the population could not come up with $1,000 cash for an emergency without having to borrow it. It is now – get a loan for whatever you want. The general American attitude used to be – buy what you can afford. ![]() But equally driving this bus off the cliff is the finance crack of easy credit on depreciating appliances. I rail often about compliance costs – which are enormous. This is a clear barometer of an unsustainable gap between what people are buying and what they can afford to buy. Car loans are now on average twice the duration they were – and (per the article) leasing has exploded to almost a third of all transactions. The signs are neon backlit and flashing obvious at this point – but few notice. I, too, have been in the biz a long time now – formally, for the past 25 years. I feel like a man howling into the wind sometimes. This stopped abruptly when gas stations made the minimum fuel fill was established at about ten gallons. All that happened was that the average fuel quantity in fuel tanks went from about four gallons to nearly twenty. Just recall all the made hysteria during the two gas “shortages” of about twenty years ago, with crazed motorists driving around hysterically constantly looking for an open gas station at which to top off. Sometimes gradually and gently but more often with much pain and suffering. This can’t go on – and when something can’t go on it finally stops. Actually, the cars haven’t increased in price – the value of our currency has decreased, and by about 90 percent vs. Now half the new cars in the US are leased. Back then fully half of all new cars in the UK were leased. John writes: As one who spent his entire career in the carbiz (after the military) and owned several new-car dealerships, I’d like to add the following: We’re now precisely where the UK (the Uck) was fifty years ago. Here’s the latest reader rant my comments follow!
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