Auto lenders refuse to put the brakes on risky loans, even as subprime mortgage lenders are skidding off the road.
So you believe you are a superior negotiator? A new study says you're probably wrong.
When you think that you have bargained for the best deal possible, chances are that you could have done even better, according to the study by professors Richard Larrick of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and George Wu of the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. The results were recently published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
One of the most difficult parts of business is negotiating. It's a skill that we develop from birth. That's right! We come out of the womb with negotiating skills.
Executives get around by using most every mode of transporation, including cars, planes, boats and trains.
With gas prices at record highs, I'm sure you've got a few choice words to say about the greedy you-know-whats who run the big oil companies.
But I've got an alternative solution, and I don't mean ethanol: Don't get mad. Get even.
To the outside observer, Ken Wirth buys a new car every 18 months. For the past 30 years or so, you'd be hard-pressed to find him driving the same make or model for more than two years. As the owner of a financial service in Connecticut, Wirth is well off, but not that well off. Wirth leases and he's not bashful to say it. In fact, he feels it shows off his intellect.
A Ferrari that runs on garbage?
An eco-Hummer?
Either this is an environmentalist's wildest dream or it's the annual Detroit Auto Show.
Maybe it's both.
Leasing a car is typically easier on your wallet than buying.
But lessees are much more likely than buyers to be taken advantage of, for the simple reason that it's difficult to understand what you're paying for.
Tata Motors (TTM), which I profiled on these pages roughly five months ago, is the front-runner to take over Ford's (F) premier brands, Jaguar and Land Rover.
If you're in L.A., you see celebrities driving everywhere. While their cars aren't always clean, they're almost always new, with essential accessories like black DUB-rims or DirectTV satellite.
