[MaximumSpeed]

So they're saying that the total car sales for 2011 are supposed to top the charts with the highest amount since 2008. With house sales down and car sales up, makes one wonder if more people are living in their cars...

[Hotrod25]

Wow, not something I would have thought of. I'm thinking not though! I bet the prices of cars are dropping so people are buying them. I did hear that house sales are down though.

[vroombaby]

There are still a ton of places around here pushing for end of year clearance sales along with a ton of people still out of work. I do not get it. Why are these people going more into debt over a new car thinking its a good idea??

[Lindsey]

I've read that it's a cyclical thing. People are only comfortable keeping their cars for 4-5 years, max. After that the thinking is that the warranty is up or almost up, so it's time to buy new again before major problems occur.

[Lamboguy]

Maybe all the people that use to have expensive mortgages now have cheaper rents so now they can afford to drive new cars. I know I got slammed in the price of the condo I bought at 230k and wound up short selling it for only 53k.

[vroombaby]

We have only seen two car places go under in the past year and they were both Chevy places downtown. I am not sure if they were owned by the same place or not though and all the mom/pop shops here are doing fine.

[DMan]

Car companies are smart. They offer cash back, a delayed start to payments and very low interest payments to encourage shoppers to become buyers. Make the payments affordable and more people are going to want to buy.

[Lamboguy]

But is there a catch in the long term with those deals? I bought furniture for a room with no interest for a year and didn't realize that if I didn't pay it off in that time, I'd have a huge interest fee added onto my balance. I didn't read the fine print. I always hear about these car deals with zero down and all that, but there has to be something to it.

[PEZluvr]

I'm sure most of them do that "balloon interest" thing, Lambo. It's true, too, that people want to have different cars often. I'm not that way. I've had my car since 2002!

[Smoothe]

It's great that car sales are going up again. Not only just car sales, but American-made automobile sales are finally beginning to reach skyward. I heard yesterday that Detroit is much better off than it was this time last year.