Sign of the Times: Understated Edition

by Jeff Puthuff

Published: May 18th, 2009

Folsom, CA (Yuppie-burb of Sacramento) is in my neck of the woods. I was browsing the online car ads of my local struggling newspaper, the Sacramento Bee, and was struck by the number of trucks for sale.

“We’ve got more trucks than ever before . . . ” Yes, over 1,000 is quite a lot. (Get it?)

“Backed by the Federal Government! Now that’s peace of mind!” Now that’s funny!

This dealership is not on the hit list, but its neighbor, Folsom Lake Chrysler Jeep, is. Drove by the automall yesterday and it was a ghost town.

To illustrate the dire situation, take a look at this part of the ad:

$9175 off a stripper model and must finance thru [Aargh! Thru is not a word!] a credit union. No ChryFi or GMAC here . . . The saddest part of this ad is the 2008 T&C LX prior rental listed at $15,995 (good luck with that, FLD).

What’s it like in your neck of the woods?

Jeff Puthuff

Early 30s California guy driving a 97 Infiniti I30. Past cars: 90 Cavalier, 82 Skylark, 78 Courier, 61 Beetle.

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2 of 19 comments

PrincipalDan on May 18, 2009

WildBill: Hey check out what a matrix front clip would cost. It might still be a deal, lol.....

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Jeff Puthuff on May 18, 2009

@ Robert.Walter R u sure u want to start this deb8? "R" and "u" are in the dictionary, too, but if our newspapers were written like kids IM, then all hope is lost. I should have clarified: "Thru" should not be used in the context it was used in the ad.

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Recent Comments

Cprescott People do silly things to their cars.
Jeff This is a step in the right direction with the Murano gaining a 9 speed automatic. Nissan could go a little further and offer a compact pickup and offer hybrids. VoGhost--Nissan has  laid out a new plan to electrify 16 of the 30 vehicles it produces by 2026, with the rest using internal combustion instead. For those of us in North America, the company says it plans to release seven new vehicles in the US and Canada, although it’s not clear how many of those will be some type of EV.Nissan says the US is getting “e-POWER and plug-in hybrid models” — each of those uses a mix of electricity and fuel for power. At the moment, the only all-electric EVs Nissan is producing are the  Ariya SUV and the  perhaps endangered (or  maybe not) Leaf.In 2021, Nissan said it would  make 23 electrified vehicles by 2030, and that 15 of those would be fully electric, rather than some form of hybrid vehicle. It’s hard to say if any of this is a step forward from that plan, because yes, 16 is bigger than 15, but Nissan doesn’t explicitly say how many of those 16 are all-battery, or indeed if any of them are.  https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/25/24111963/nissan-ev-plan-2026-solid-state-batteries
Jkross22 Sure, but it depends on the price. All EVs cost too much and I'm talking about all costs. Depreciation, lack of public/available/reliable charging, concerns about repairability (H/K). Look at the battering the Mercedes and Ford EV's are taking on depreciation. As another site mentioned in the last few days, cars aren't supposed to depreciate by 40-50% in a year or 2.
Jkross22 Ford already has an affordable EV. 2 year old Mach-E's are extraordinarily affordable.
Lou_BC How does the lower case "armada" differ from the upper case "Armada"?