The Core

>>if it gets a scratch you could just shrug it off... liberating

So true!

My car was recently hit in the parking lot and a good Samaritan left a note with the license plate of the perpetrator. I looked around and realized I couldn't possibly pick out any new scratches from the old dents and scratches and threw the paper away. I had another car I bought for $750. It was hit in a hit and run, a neighbor got the license plate and called it into the police and I got $1500 to repair it. I went to the junk yard, spent $25 on  tail light, hammered out the dent with a 2x4 and a sledge hammer. Actually doubled my money on that car and gave it to a friend in need when I moved to Switzerland.

>>EVERY SINGLE VEHICLE in that section is nicer than mine

My 2003 Honda Odyssey and 76 Ford pickup agree with this. I wouldn't care at all if one of those got a ding in it. No reason to get a nice car when it will just be filled with goldfish crumbs and spilled apple juice from the kids.

I live in a pretty standard suburban neighborhood that seems to have a fairly high number of older people and retirees. Most of their vehicles are pretty sensible (5-10 year old hyundais, 15 year old pickups, etc.). But drive 5 minutes to a newer neighborhood with younger families and you see a bunch of $50K+ trucks, SUVs, crossovers, etc.

>1974 260z with a 350 small block Chevy

Well, hello there.

>Well, hello there

Little cars with big engines are fun.

That sub is pretty good RC.

The Sonett is an interesting car.  I don't think I know of any other car that is front wheel drive, has a V4 and looks like a sports car.

This is old news (Feb 2019), but I just listened to a Planet Money on car loans and they cited this

Record 7 Million Americans are Behind on Car Loans
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/02/12/record-million-americans-are-months-behind-their-car-payments-red-flag-economy/

This is not necessarily a sign of recession, so much as the fact that interest rates are low and the subprime car loan industry has exploded, as subprime car loans are typically at high teens to low 20s (a person on the Planet Money episode had a 23% car loan).
https://www.npr.org/2019/11/20/781364732/episode-953-three-sides-of-a-car-loan

<warp>

Flash forward to the pandemic and something like 60%^(?) are behind in rent or mortgage.  I wonder how the auto loan mortgage industry is holding up?

also upstream:
>EVs are likely to could be cheaper to produce --perhaps far cheaper.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says company is planning on launching a $25,000 car – its cheapest yet – in about three years.

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/9/23/bb-asian-battery-makers-zapped-by-teslas-plans-to-slash-costs