Good grief, a car is NOT a 4-7 year "commitment"! It's a bleeping car! Don't like, it? Sell it, get you a different one. Cars are about as liquid as any asset we have.
Well Charlie Brown, YES it is a 4-7 year commitment. If someone is in need of financing...they usually finance new vehicles for that long. If someone is asking about financing...then they are in the same boat...even if they have 50K in the bank to pay for the new vehicle outright, it will probably take them 4-7 years to replace what they spent.
Once the car is driven off the lot, it has depreciated and will continue to do so...your vision of car as liquid gold asset is a terrible investment, that's why young people get so upside down on them just trading them in over and over...a used car features the same situation just shorter.
For people who do not even think about financing, then their income or situation is much different and the above philosophy doesn't apply.
Oh..and GFY...because it's campfire and all...
