2007's Biggest "Bargains"
With the help of our pals over at Edmunds.com, BusinessWeek has compiled a list of the 20 most heavily discounted 2007 vehicles still on the lots. They based the list on Edmund's average transaction price vs. sticker price. As you can imagine, the list is tilted heavily towards pickup trucks and SUVs; only two passenger cars are included. Imported vehicles are conspicuous by their absence (all the import-branded vehicles are rebadged versions of American-built vehicles). Oh, and someone forget to mention that depreciation is the single largest cost vehicle ownership. A two-year-old Mitsubishi Raider? You must be joking mate. [The percentage represents the discount, while the number in parentheses shows the supply on hand as of the first of October. The inventory numbers may include some 2008 models while the discounts only apply to '07s.]
Mitsubishi Raider – 29% (19 day supply)
(*The inventory for Silverado and Sierra are for all versions, not just the Classics. GM doesn't break the inventory numbers down by version or weight class.)
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Gee, this is really what the kids call "a no brainer" isn't it? Notice that the entire list is composed of gas-hog suckin' mothers. It makes one think maybe H.L. Mencken was wrong when he said that "no one ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the American public" - at least in regards to cars. (Given that he didn't live beyond 1956, and distrusted all new technology, even the Bard of Baltimore might have missed one.) As President Bush once again sounds as if he is ready to send American bombers on a mission to start - or is it to stop? - World War III, the fickle American public knows that the fix is in on gasoline prices. Given that, they may not be ready to embrace the Smart car (written about elsewhere this week at TTAC) but they sure as hell don't give a rat's ass about the Jeep Commander and its ilk now do they? They may embrace the new Chevrolet Malibu, from what one hears tell, but only if it allows them to weather gas at $4.00 a gallon. If Chrysler goes broke, maybe someone there will understand that when they were thinking about taking the Patriot hybrid racecar to LeMans in 1995, as a development mule, they misjudged the future. Suddenly, it seems as if it's 1979 again. Remember what happened to all the big gas suckin' mothers back then? It won't because of CAFE standards going up, or even the playing field being leveled between trucks, SUVs and cars, in that regard. Oddly enough, the gas hogs may go away thanks to President Bush. Maybe that's what he meant in January 2002, when he touted a hydrogen economy.
In 2005 I bought a 1991 Honda CRX Si for $1,630. It had well over 100K miles and I drove it like crazy. I had to fix a few minor things on the car (Alternator, Distributor, Radiator, Tires, Battery) and drove it for about two years. It was a ton of fun, but I got married and a 2 seater just wasn't going to cut it anymore. So I bought a 90's Toyota with 60K miles and sold the CRX for $2,700. That's what I call resale, I love Japanese imports!