I agreé with that. If you're truly middle class, as in you have a steady job and a household income of at least $50k, you have to actively try to destroy your credit rating to the point where you wouldn't be approved for a prime interest rate on a new or used car loan. There has never been a better time to buy a new or good,reliable used car as long as you have good credit. Even a total poorfag can walk into a Mitsubishi or Nissan dealer and drive away with a brand new Mirage or Versa, with a 5+ year warranty, for a hair under $10k. That's simply insane if you compare the quality of either of those econoboxes to any equivalent available back in the 70's, 80's, or 90's.
That said, there is a looming threat on the horizon in the form of the subprime auto loan industry. That sector may appeal solely to the working poor and lower middle class, but if it bursts, the ramifications will be felt by everyone. We're actually starting to see a rise in subprime auto loan delinquencies which may be the first indicator that the bubble is about to burst, something which is inevitable when the entire sector is built upon selling used cars at inflsted values with 25%+ APR financing.
What's interesting is that the subprime auto financing industry is a relatively new phenomenon and I believe its existence can be traced directly to Obama's Cash for Clunkers program (official name: Car Allowance Rebate System). C4C was a borderline corporate welfare program that gave the owner of any car less than 25 years old a rebate of $4,000 if they traded it in on the purchase or 5 year lease of a new car. The actual intent of the to boost sales for the Big 3 domestic manufacturers plus foreign makes who manifacture cars in the US, although it was sold on environmental grounds (get old gas hogs off the road and replace them with cleaner and more efficient new cars).
The problem with C4C was that it effectively wiped out the bottom of the used car market. Not only did C4C wind up removing 700,000 sub-$4k used cars from the market, anyone who owned a car worth less than $4k but still capable of affording a new car in 2009 was the kind of owner likely to maintain a vehicle on above average condition. This effectively eliminated the cheap, yet reliable used car from existence and the effect on the wsy in which lower middle class bought vehicles has been profound.
Prior to C4C, the idea of financing a first car or a basic but reliable commuter car was unheard of. When it came to buying my first car in 2005, I was able to get a bullet proof 1993 Honds Civic for $2,250 and everyone else I knew was in a similar boat. A part time high school job could easily provide enough income to make saving up ~$2k in a matter of months a feasible goal and the same applied to the working poor. That all ended when C4C raped the used car market, effectively setting a price floor of $4k for even the worst condition cars, while economy cars weren't eligible, the reduced supply of less efficieny vehicles caused prices to skyrocket in response to an unchanged level of demand. Suddenly the prospects of being able to save up for a reliable vehicle in a reasonable span of time evaporated.
Just because entry level used cars effectively doubled in price doesn't mean the working poor and lower middle class could suddenly find a way around needing a car to get to work. How can someone with no savings, a low income, and terrible/no credit get a car? That's where the shady "Buy Here, Pay Here" dealers and subprime lenders stepped in. The problem is that they can't exactly get cars cheaper than $4k either and the income of their clientele is often so low that they know there will be an anormous delinquency and default rate no matter what. Since buyers from those demographics have to buy a car, a whole system of abusive usury and market distorting incentives have taken shape to keep this disgusting economic machine churning.
