U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Recession

Re:U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Rec... by BluePen7 on Wednesday April 29, 2020 @12:55PM (#23021363)

I think there's two confounding factors there, in the US parking is usually plentiful and right out front (or visible), so you're always seen in the vehicle you pull up in. It can be a part of your identity, both for yourself, and socially.

Americans also spend a lot of time in their cars, I went from a short commute to a long commute (1 hour each way), and found I got almost exponentially more critical of my car the longer the commute.

Suddenly the practical vehicle I didn't mind driving 15 minutes, was an eyesore to look at after an hour, and the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) wears on you exponentially with time.

I started browsing cars to buy that would have been borderline financial suicide for how much I made, just because of how important the comfort and aesthetics became to me.

Couple this with their tendency towards financing things, and how cheap automotive related expenses are in the US, and it's the perfect storm.

I ended up changing jobs to one 10 minutes from my house, and it's downtown so parking is just done at various pay lots a few blocks from my office so nobody ever sees what I drive, and suddenly what I drive is irrelevant again, I was back to being content with my 15 year old Camry.

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Re:U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Rec... by ChrisRR on Thursday May 07, 2020 @08:16AM (#23102125)

That's an interesting thought, but what part of that requires you to buy a new car? Car technology moves notoriously slowly, and the comfort and features of a new car compared to a 3 year old car at 2/3rd the price is negligible. (outside of the move to electric cars anyway)

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Re:U.S. Economy Shrinks at 4.8% Pace, Signaling Start of Rec... by sershe on Thursday April 30, 2020 @09:48AM (#23030759)

Heh, when I learned to drive in the USA I got a Honda Fit (I'm 6'4"). The plan was to drive it for a year and switch to a car more appropriate for a high-flying' techie, like a BMW X5.

I found out after test driving BMWs and Audis I don't see much difference between those cars and the Fit other than some bogus identity around it. It's just driving. I've taken many 6-12 hour long non-stop trips in the Fit (e.g. SF to Seattle where I only left the car once to pump gas, the 2nd time I had to get gas was in Oregon; many trips to Eastern Sierras from SF, etc.) and I think it's fine.

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