In the US, loans are commonly used to amortize costs over a period of time, allowing people to buy things even when they do not have the cash to pay the purchase price.

Is this something I'm supposed to look at with envy ? My grand parents didn't have to get a loan to buy a basic cars, my parent neither, they were far from rich.

But alas, now people get into debt for TVs and smartphones, so what do I know, I must be a boomer!

Yeah, outside of some sort of emergency situation, there is no chance I'd be willing to take out a loan to buy a car.

You can earn 5%+ risk free now, so borrowing at 5% to 7% to buy a car is just good business. There is no early repayment penalty, so at the least, you get to keep access to liquid funds for a negligible cost, or you can use your invest your money to earn a better return elsewhere.

Sure, but doing those sorts of balances are more hassle and pain than they tend to be worth to me (and it still involves risk). Others who don't find such things unpleasant certainly have a different result in their cost/benefit calculations.

If you're comparing to paying cash for a purchase you were going to make anyway. If you're comparing borrowing at a break-even rate to buy a new car vs paying cash for a lightly used car, borrowing is not what I'd describe as good business.

You can get some pretty great interest rates on auto loans at certain times, due to promotions or unusually low fed rates. I could have bought my car with cash but happily took a loan with a sub 2.5% interest rate.

Aside from low rates though I agree that there's not much point in getting a loan if you're able to comfortabely buy the car with cash, although many/most car buyers don't have that kind of financial flexibility.

EVs are still relatively new, the idea of a budget version is a good sign even if it's still some way off mass appeal. Although if you look at what low-end new cars cost these days, it's actually not a lot more for the Dacia Spring and you might be able to break even pretty quick once you factor running costs in.

There's literally nowhere I can legally drive at 75mph. I'm glad EVs are being more sensible about top speeds. My 40 minute daily commute has a top speed of 70mph and an average of just under 20! That's the reality of urban speed limits and heavy traffic where something like the Dacia might fit well. But I agree, it is under-powered and won't be a fun drive carrying even one person, let alone carrying five. The next generation should be more interesting.