Car News Articles

Unless you must have a car now, if you’re considering a domestic car or even a U.S.-built car, wait. Many of the proposed legislative measures to “save” the domestic auto industry will cut car prices by thousands of dollars. If you buy a car now, you could pay thousands more than you will later. Automotive News [sub] reports on the most ambitious federal consumer bailout proposal yet. “Retired Chrysler President Hal Sperlich has written a position paper with Don Runkle, former vice chairman of Delphi Corp., calling for a $3,000 government cash incentive on the purchase of a Detroit 3 vehicle.” Chrysler and Delphi execs? You’re kidding, right? Nope. An incentive like this would be unfair in so many ways that it boggles the mind. And yet it’s such a bone-headed proposal that it– or something like it– could happen anyway. And the guys make an excellent point: for GM and Ford to survive (I wrote off Chrysler when Cerberus bought them), auto sales cannot continue at their current level. “In an interview today, Sperlich and Runkle said that without consumer incentives, the Detroit 3 will merely burn through any government loans they receive within a few months. ‘It will be a bridge loan to nowhere unless there are incentives to spur demand,’ Runkle said.” To boost auto sales in the current economy, actual purchase prices are going to have to come down. A lot. And if even one manufacturer cuts prices, the others will have to follow. So, if you don’t want to pay too much for a new car, wait.