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G-Benz · #7 01-22-2003, 05:10 PM

The consumers will make their voices heard when they stop buying new cars and look to taking chances on pre-owned (with some aftermarket warranty protection).

Statistics will show that if this becoms the trend, then manufacturers will allow dealers to offer incredible incentives to get their showrooms full again. That is why zero-percent financing, 7-year powertrain warranties, and no payments till 12/xxxx, etc. are a fact of life today.

The economy is only driven when consumers opt to purchase goods and services. There is no incentive to produce products to "last forever" if the buyers stay away for several years. How do can they pay for all of that development of future products, while staying in goverment conformance in emission and safety standards?

Much of this wasn't an issue decades ago, and consider that the typical family had one car, not several! Regulatory issues were nil, and raw materials and fossil fuels were cheap and plentiful. You could produce a viable product more easily and cheaply then.

In the future, cars may wind up being somewhat "disposable". Using nearly 100% recyclable parts, a consumer purchases a vehicle, gets a financing plan that matches the depreciation curve of the vehicle (three of more years).

When the vehicle reaches an "expiration" period, the consumer can choose to keep the vehicle (it is paid for, so there is no depreciation loss at that time) or return it for disposal (and a salvage rebate) towards the purchase of a new vehicle. The government would endorse such a plan because it sustains their goal of removing older vehicles off the road to be recycled into more efficient newer ones...