Yahoo Autos This Week in Cars: Honda Ridgeline, Armored Vehicles, and e-tron's New Noises
In which we were more than a little surprised to discover that elsewhere in the world, an auto show happened. Check out the 14 most interesting cars and concepts from Beijing, and then check out what else went down this week.
Dollars and Sense
TransUnion’s latest report on the financial industry revealed that the share of car loans that are past due crept up in August to 3.1 percent, while the Board of Governors of the Fed say Americans have a cumulative $1.2 trillion in outstanding car loan debt. As pandemic-related forbearance programs wind down and the economic boost from spring's stimulus package dries up, those numbers could go even higher. Consider this our weekly plea not to buy more car than you can afford, especially if you’re making it work by taking out a seven-year loan. Along with our pleading, consider our monthly round up of the best lease deals.
And a reminder that things are still happening in the rest of the world even though we can’t go there right now: the EU and UK are working to iron out the details of a post-Brexit trade deal, which is almost certain to have a financial and operational impact on European carmakers. How big? BMW’s chief financial officer estimated this week (in what must be acknowledged as a bit of public lobbying) that a Brexit deal that doesn’t include tariff-free trade across the new border would seriously disrupt the just-in-time manufacturing system on the continent and could cost the auto industry about $13 billion. The two sides have set an October 15 deadline to develop an outline for a trade deal.
This Week in the Future (of Cars)
