More evidence that reports of "peak car" in the United States were premature.
"The amount of money borrowed to pay for new and used vehicles climbed to an all-time high of $968 billion in the third quarter," reports Phil LeBeau. That fact comes from new data from Experian, which tracks auto loans.
Melinda Zabritski senior director of automotive finance with Experian provides this soundbite explaining the trend: "We're seeing record auto sales and vehicle prices are up, so loans are increasing….Also, more people are paying for their vehicle with an auto loan as opposed to financing it with a home equity loan or paying cash."
Mimicking recent trends in gas consumption and vehicle miles travelled, if Americans continue the current pace of automobile sales, "the U.S. will set a record for annual sales with an expected total of 17.46 million vehicles."
The article also includes some scary discussion about a bad word, for anyone who lived through 2008: subprime loans. Subprime auto loans have been steadily increasing since 2011, according to Experian. According to LeBeau, there is also "no shortage of people who are suggesting America's red-hot auto market is being fueled by a bubble in subprime auto loans."
FULL STORY: Auto loans reach an all-time high
U.S. Auto Loan Debt Balloons to $1.4 Trillion, Study Says
Consumer Reports published findings of an investigation of U.S. auto loan debt, finding that debt is increasing at increasingly fast rates alongside the cost of cars over the past decade.
The Philadelphia Loan Program Transforming the Demographics of Development
The Jumpstart loan program is helping Black and female residents become developers.
High Housing Costs Are Bad News for Older Millennials
Burdened by rising housing costs, many millennials are finding it increasingly difficult to pay off debt or save for the future.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.
BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.
Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service