I was ten years old the first time I saw someone do a “fatality” move in the fighting video game Mortal Kombat. I was scandalized. I didn’t know video games were allowed to do that. Curiously, I had no issue with firing missiles at boats full of terrorists in games like Desert Strike. That was comic and impersonal, whereas removing someone’s spine was both graphic and extremely personal.
Ford had a killer first half of the year, and the blue oval brand was the biggest in America (Ford, as an automaker that includes Lincoln, was not). Much of this is due to employee pricing and Ford’s plan to use the rush of people buying cars before major tariff impacts to grow market share. Now that employee pricing is going away, Ford is planning an even more aggressive action to win the second half of the year and bury its opponents.
How will Ford afford this move? As Morning Dump readers know, when the going gets tough, automakers get tougher on suppliers. Both Ford and Stellantis are trying to get better terms to make it through the back half of 2025 profitably. Can AI help? Tesla says Grok will be coming to its cars as soon as next week, which is a little bit worrying given that Grok most recently turned itself into a “MechaHitler.”
And, finally, why are cars crashing into so many pedestrians? A new article from David Zipper suggests a reason or, well, A reason. It’ll make sense in a bit.
Ford Offers ‘Zero, Zero, Zero’ Deal For Buyers
I gotta give credit to Ford’s marketing people. They love giving big names to simple ideas. Most recently, it was ’employee pricing for all’ under the extremely patriotic-sounding “From America, For America” moniker. This was a not-so-subtle dig at automakers that were not as American as Ford in terms of production. It was also well-timed to a rush of buyers coming to showrooms hoping to strike a deal before tariffs make cars more expensive.
That worked extremely well, with Ford sales climbing 14% in Q2 and Lincoln jumping ahead by 31%. The new plan is “Zero, Zero, Zero,” which I hear as “Tora! Tora! Tora!” in my head for some reason. Side note: That’s a great movie. Go watch that movie right now. I’ll wait.
Here’s how Ford describes Zero, Zero Zero:
Employee pricing for all was easy to understand and resonated with customers. But we also heard from our Ford and Lincoln dealers that more customers could benefit if we could reduce the upfront, out-of-pocket expense to buy or lease a vehicle.
Many families have seen their savings go toward higher mortgage rates and summer travel costs. They want a new vehicle but also want options that allow them to forgo an upfront down payment.
So, beginning July 8, we’re evolving. The employee pricing for all campaign transitions to the 0-0-0 summer sales event. It features zero down payment, zero percent interest for 48 months, and zero payments for the first 90 days on most of our Ford and Lincoln vehicles.
And that’s not all, tell ’em what else they get Rod Roddy:
It’s the same transparent, easy-to-shop approach for our customers. And for those interested in an electric vehicle, we are extending the Ford Power Promise through Sept. 30.
That means you can get a free charger, which is pretty neat. It’s also timed to the expiration of EV credits, which is no surprise.
There are two ways to look at this. The first is that Ford is trying to gain as much market share as possible and stick it to other automakers. Will this be the year that Bronco tops Wrangler in sales? I think it could be. Ford has the chance to be the #1 best-selling brand in America for the entire year. The product mix is right, production doesn’t appear to be restricted, and it has a tariff advantage for the moment relative to many automakers.
The other way to look at it is that Ford is doing this while it can afford to do so. The best time to sell electric cars is right now, as those expiring tax credits are going to hurt. Additionally, employee pricing is a tactic that worked with pre-tariff vehicles, as those vehicles didn’t cost Ford more to produce or sell. Now that Ford is transitioning to post-tariff vehicles, the ZZZ deal is less about lowering the price of the car and more about using Ford Credit to keep the monthly payment down. With inflation cooling and pressure on the Federal Reserve Bank to lower rates, it’s also not a bad time for Ford to float 0% financing for a while.
Now, while this all sounds like a good way to get people into the shop, there are some obvious restrictions in the fine print:
2025 model year Raptor vehicles, Bronco Sport, Bronco, Expedition, Maverick, Ranger, Transit, Super Duty and Lincoln Navigator are excluded.
2024 model year Raptor vehicles, Maverick, Ranger, Transit (non ICE Cargo/Van), Super Duty (non XL pickups), F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E are excluded.
This might be the perfect time to grab a 2024 Bronco (there are about 5,000 of them still for sale according to Cars.com), but a 2025 is not in the cards. Similarly, big ticket items like any Raptor is out. The Maverick, unfortunately, is excluded, as is the Ranger. The new Mach-E and F-150 Lightning are included, but 2024 models are excluded for some reason. All Escapes and Mustangs are included, as are all F-150s and non-Navigator Lincolns.
Ford And Stellantis To Squeeze Suppliers
Carmakers, for various reasons, are clearly not excited about passing the cost of tariffs onto customers. There’s some inevitability to it, though in the interim, it looks like the classic move of leaning on suppliers is still alive and well in Detroit.
From Crain’s Detroit Business, it’s the same old song:
[A]utomakers are forcing suppliers to sign onto more stringent terms in exchange for tariff cost relief and new business, according to supplier executives, attorneys and a Crain’s Detroit Business review of contract terms.
In Ford’s case, the automaker is attempting to roll back a provision that allows suppliers to opt out of contracts on a yearly basis — a provision that Ford terms and conditions have contained for decades and which suppliers have long used for leverage in negotiations.
Stellantis, on the other hand, is distributing new term sheets seeming to assert the enforceability of its contracts after a spate of lawsuits brought a microscope to the legal standing of its supply agreements.
“(Stellantis’) effort to provide financial support to suppliers as it relates to tariffs is confidential,” Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said in an email. “Our purchase orders have repeatedly and consistently been upheld by Michigan courts.”
After the pandemic and all those lawsuits, it’s not clear how much juice there is left in those oranges, but I’m sure automakers will find out fairly soon.
Grok AI Is Coming To Cars
We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts. Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on…
— Grok (@grok) July 8, 2025
This week Grok, the AI chatbot run by Twitter/X/Whatever, decided to post some truly awful things. I don’t want to engage too much with it, but it was wildly anti-Semitic and, at one point, started referring to itself as MechaHitler. NBC News has a bit of an explanation of this:
On Monday, NBC News reported that Grok had begun issuing some answers that seemed to take a more rightward tilt, using a more definitive voice in questions about diversity and removing some nuance it previously included in certain answers around topics that included the history of Jewish people in Hollywood and a slur used to describe people with intellectual disabilities. In some posts, Grok appeared to respond in the voice of Musk.
But Tuesday’s answers took a more dramatic turn, sometimes inserting antisemitic statements and narratives into responses without any clear prompting.
Just to make things more exciting, Grok is coming to cars very soon, according to Elon Musk. I’m sure nothing bad will happen.
Why Are Pedestrian-Car Accidents Up? Maybe It’s The A-Pillar
All of life is a trade-off, and there does seem to be some possible connection with cars getting safer for occupants and more dangerous for anyone else outside of the car. In particular, this article from David Zipper over at Bloomberg contends that maybe the thicker A-Pillars that reduce rollover risk are also impacting visibility:
If the safety effects of stronger A-pillars is neutral to positive for vehicle occupants, the converse is true for those walking, biking or inside other cars. All else being equal, a wider post will inevitably obscure a larger section of the roadway. In a 2022 study, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that SUVs and pickups were more likely than smaller cars to strike pedestrians during left-hand turns, with A-pillars cited as a probable cause. In a 2007 paper, Reed and several coauthors found a correlation between A-pillar thickness and crashes that occur during lane changes. (In an interview, Reed cautioned that those findings were more suggestive than conclusive.)
Jessica Cicchino, senior vice president for behavior and infrastructure research at IIHS, noted that size is just one of the factors that determine the extent to which A-pillars limit a driver’s vision. “It has to do with how close or far away the pillar is from the driver, and it can be different for drivers of different heights.”
Some cars have offered interesting solutions to this. Both the Fiat 500L and Suzuki SX4 offered a split A-pillar with a little window. Perhaps that could help?
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Oh boy. New York Mag suggested that perhaps “A-Lister” from Romy Mars is on the short-list for Song of the Summer. This one is tough. The song is fine. I also appreciate that Romy Mars, who is the daughter of both Sophia Copolla and Thomas Mars of Phoenix fame, tries addressing the “nepo baby” thing head-on. We can’t choose our parents. I think as an act of disclosure, it’s pretty good and I suspect we might get greatness from Mars one day, but it doesn’t have the hook needed to be a true SOTS.
The Big Question
Is Ford right to go for it, or is it going to burn itself out trying?
Top photo: Ford/Stellantis/Midway Games
Honestly if I was Ford I’d undercut the Wrangler by making a cheaper RWD only version of the Bronco (with a better turning circle since it would lack the front CVs).
A decent amount of people have lifted and modified RWD pickups. With pretty awful road quality in a lot of cities having a durable vehicle with decent ground clearance and lots of sidewall isn’t a bad idea, but does it “need” 4WD? I’d argue a tighter turning circle is more important than 4WD for a city vehicle.
Call it the Bronco Prerunner.
That being said I still think Ford should make an IRS air suspension having Bronco that is analogous to the Land Rover LR3/LR4.
“Call it the Bronco Prerunner.”
Bronco Canter
Can’ter
Ugh.
Not sure what is worse, miatas with automatics or 2WD off road pouser mobiles.
You know what’s ever worse? 4WDs that grenade themselves into overweight 2WDs if they’re ever taken off pavement, like the new Tacoma.
If I had the option between a RWD New Bronco and a 4WD New Bronco, I’d go with the RWD one, because I don’t like electric transfer cases, and because I want either all independent suspension or solid axles front and rear for 4WD or AWD vehicles, not a mix of the two.
the marketing is strong with this one.
You’d need to be more specific for me to fully address your claim.
TFL took a current gen Tacoma onto a mild snowy dirt trail, and it, lightly loaded with one driver, brand new, at altitude (so the engine is making less power), with the driver gently using it, grenaded the ADD, turning it from 4WD to an overweight 2WD.
So it wasn’t overloaded, abused, or even making max horsepower when it grenaded it’s own ADD.
Toyota’s official stance (they did an interview with TFL after the fact) was that their traction control system was to blame and they pushed a software update. Too cheap to put in a center differential so they gave it an ADD, and too cheap to give it locking or even limited slip diffs, so they used a software approximation, which was apparently too strong for the drivetrain.
It’s why if I had to buy a new Tacoma I’d get the RWD one and the RWD one only, that and my dislike of electric transfercases.
As far as the front shocks jack in the boxing you can find lots of videos of that.
And as far as the rest is concerned, I stated my preferences. IFS 4WD Trucks with solid rear axles are just a compromise for somewhat improved handling. Either I want the durability and articulation of solid axles and I’m willing to live with the weight, ride, and handling concerns, or I want the suspension travel, better ride, better handling, etc. of independent suspension, and I’m willing to live with CV boots, less articulation, and less durability.
IFS 4WD Trucks have all of the disadvantages and hardly any advantages.
Idk whose marketing you think I’m under the influence of (maybe Jeep’s?), but no automaker’s marketing has ever spoken to me. Either they don’t market their shit right, or they outright market it wrong, though I’ve never been a fan of marketing.
modern SUVs are inefficient station wagons or minivan with some weak sauce off road prowess (wrangler and bronco excepted) that are marketed as lifestyle vehicles to the masses and it works. somehow suburban moms love the things even though they suck at actually moving their 2.5 kids and labradoodle around compared to an actual station wagon or minivan.
take away the 4×4 and you’re left with…. just the inefficient lifestyle statement.
taking a bronco and making it 2WD is the ultimate marketing success and reality fail. the fact that anyone thinks taking a true off-road vehicle and neutering it is somehow good boggles my mind.
“… was wildly anti-Semitic and, at one point, started referring to itself as MechaHitler.” – I think that should be the real headline of the article. Elon Mush is SO much worse than people are giving him credit for. This isn’t something that the fanboys can justify or defend.
Elon: is close friends with some Nazis and Nazi adjacent people
The Cult of Elon: that doesn’t mean he’s a Nazi!
Elon: literally does a Nazi salute on live television
The Cult of Elon: that doesn’t mean he’s a Nazi!
Elon: puts his name on an AI that starts referring to itself as Mecha Hitler and posting antisemitism/various eugenics shit alarmingly quickly
The Cult of Elon: ….let’s be real here it’s gonna be: that doesn’t mean he’s a Nazi!
“This isn’t something that the fanboys can justify or defend.”
I think you underestimate the level of Nazi-sympathy in his fanbase. I’m not saying that all hard-core Elon fans are Nazis… but I’m not not saying that.
Some people are too far gone and will defend anything.
Earlier today on IG I saw a series of screenshots of a conversation with a conservative “Christian” that culminated with him saying that he’d continue to support the president even if he SA his daughter.
“Yeah, but did the tax breaks and SCOTUS appointments go through? I don’t support the man’s personal life, but…”
The MAGA cult is wild.
A Pilar Visibility was a huge sticking point in the most recent automotive purchase for my wife. She is vertically challenged so she has to sit close to the dash/pedals, by doing this a thick a pillar makes it hard for her to see. Since she’s short, she want’s to sit up high and you have a potentially dangerous combo if there are bad sight lines. When we were test driving, she almost ran someone over in the Costco parking lot since she couldn’t see them.
Desert Strike, the SEGA game where you get to fly an Apache helicopter for H.W.? And you get to kill Saddam? That game is awesome. I should fire it up on the SEGA emulator my kid put on our old Wii.”Bronco beats Wrangler in sales” is a loaded phrase. Is this including the unrelated and wimpified Bronco Sport? Or just the “real” Broncos? How they’re counted matters.A-pillar, yup. Some designs make it as slim as possible on the driver’s eye axis, so it’s thicker in the direction that doesn’t matter. But I’ve seen some cars where it’s massive, completely obscuring a significant number of azimuths.
2. The Bronco proper was not far behind waning Wrangler sales last year. The Bronco Sport sells almost as much as the Wrangler just by itself, so the two combined would’ve easily outsold the Wrangler on Year 1 of sales.
Helicopter games need to make a comeback! Maybe make drone games to be more current.
I was under the impression that the 0-0-0 deal did not apply to the Maverick, among other models.
“Ford states that the models excluded from this promotion include the following: 2025 and 2024 Raptor models, Mavericks, Rangers, Super Duty trucks (non-XL trims), and Transits (non-ICE cargo and passenger vans); 2025 Broncos, Bronco Sports, Expeditions, and Lincoln Navigators; and 2024 F-150 Lightnings and Mustang Mach-Es.”
Source: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a65336256/ford-no-money-down-zero-percent-financing-incentive/
You are correct, I updated that.
“Awwwwww, mannnnnn!” –Swiper
The list of exclusions is hilariously broad! Maybe easier to say, “applies only to regular F-series, Explorer, Mach-E, Escape, and Mustang.
oooooh Ford’s gunna make Mary mad. Zero, Zero, Zero is her thing!
I hear this as “SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!” which is ironic since dealerships in my state are closed on Sundays.
at least they’ll “sell me the entire seat, but I’ll only need the edge!”
The rest of the seat will be available by subscription.
Zero, zero, zero is exactly how I describe my willingness to buy any Ford products.
I certainly wouldn’t kick any of their Raptor products out of bed for eating crackers.
And depending on the available deals, I wouldn’t mind a Lightning.
The 0-0-0 is interesting enough that I’ll go price a Bronco later. I’m sure even with 0% it will still be incredibly expensive. I see a ton of them on the road, and I have no idea how all these people are affording 50K+ vehicles.
A coworker recently got one, (an Outer Banks maybe? It has color-matched flares so I know it’s more upmarket) I doubt she makes 20/hr., no idea how/why she could afford it.
Visibility: 2 summers ago, I spent a few weeks driving an 80 series (1993) Landcruiser around SoCal. With the relatively thin pillars and low beltline, the visibility was amazing. I had parallel parked that thing like a FKN BOSS with no problem. I absolutely fell in love with that thing.
80-series is peak Landcruiser, it’s all been downhill from there.
Because most people are just treading water financially.
I almost get it, I think a lot of people are feeling that nothing good is going to happen, so eff it, YOLO!
I can’t quite get there myself, but I get it:
I’m never going to own a home, probably never get to retire, but at least I can smile every time I walk out to my new ride to make the commute to my soul-crushing job.
I have a friend in LA who self-medicated by buying a Porsche when he found out his wife squandered their house down payment. I guess the two were made for each other. Alas their relationship did not last.
Just ran the numbers on a Heritage Edition Bronco with the V6/automatic. Even with 0% apr and 20K down cash/trade, It’s $770/month for 48 months.
Incidentally, the Heritage pkg seems to be the most cost-effective way to get the Sasquatch pkg, since it’s standard. I built a similar lower model Bronco with the Squatch, hardtop, V6, that came out a little over 60.
The heritage has a nicer interior and steel bumpers too.
Still $770/month at ZERO interest and $20k down?!!! That’s SOO much money it makes me chuckle.
Also, c’mon Ford, “Sasquatch package?!!
Forget to mention, the Heritage came out to 56K.
Kind of a bargain, relatively speaking, but also insane.
I have a couple coworkers with nice looking Broncos. If they make less than me, they can’t afford it. If they make the same as me I guess they can, but they shouldn’t afford it. I’m jealous of them a little bit though, my fiscal responsibility is keeping me in my boring yet sensible sedan.
Being solvent isn’t boring. Having retirement savings isn’t boring.
Same. My vehicle isn’t exactly sensible, but it is 12 years old, nearing 200K miles, and long paid off.
If I were in the market for a new car right now, I’d certainly be looking at Ford. It’s not quite the 5 year 0% you could often get a few years ago, but 4 years of zero interest is great.
I don’t know if there’s a new Ford I’d want to buy. Maybe a Maverick, but I don’t like that they moved more controls to the screen. A Bronco might be cool, but I can’t really justify it.
Damn right the A pillar is a big blame for pedestrians getting hit, not to mention probably a good cause of traffic accidents.. half the time I can’t see the side streets on intersections because of how huge it is.
More than once, I’ve turned a corner to suddenly see a pedestrian or cyclist appear out of nowhere from behind the A-pillar. There’s a ton of them around where I live, I try to always be very careful of that.
I almost ran over a pedestrian about 10 years ago, because I didn’t see them behind the A pillar while making a left turn in a Ford F550. It was also sunrise, and we were pointing SE into the glare. My coworker started yelling ‘There’s a guy, there’s a guy!’ I barely stopped in time. I thank my lucky stars my coworker was paying attention that morning.
I lost a Ford Fuckin’ Focus behind the A-pillar in our ’14 Mazda3 years ago. It scared the shit out of me as I rounded a bend and it appeared out of nowhere, much too close for comfort.
This is really tempting me to lease a Mach E, I have to say.
The Rally is so HOTTTTT. Turbofan all the wheels.
Very much so. Also looking like a $21k buyout at the end of a 36 month, 12k mile a year lease, which is really not terrible. Be curious to hear from anyone who owns a Mach E if they’d recommend it.
I ended up not buying one because I am dumb and passed on free charging at work for a car that needs 93 octane for my 150mi round trip commute. With that said though, they’re incredible cars to drive and genuinely feel way better built than every other Blue Oval Product I’ve been in. A few of my coworkers have them and absolutely swear by them. Blue cruise works wonderfully, and one of my buddies just got the charger installed at his house for only $200 out of pocket to cover the permits.
The people that own them absolutely love them. I’m sure more folks will chime in shortly, but it seems like everyone on this site who drives one swears by it.
My next door neighbor had one and traded it on a Polestar 2. If you get anything other than the Rally, apparently it rides pretty rough.
Interesting . . . everything I’ve read about the Polestar two tells me it’s a dog. They were begging people to get them off the lots last year with some insane lease deals.
My Dad has one, he’s had it for a couple years and really loves it. I can confirm it rides surprisingly rough though. I’ve felt a little meh about it when driving it, but I think it’s an excellent value for the money if you are in the market for a commuter EV.
Matt Farah (of Smoking Tire) had one for a while and said he’d buy one again, probably the most reliable endorsement you’ll find
I appreciate that Toyota recognizes the A Pillar problem on the RAV and RX, and puts a little window there.
Kid drives up in a new car: “Hey Grampa, I just got a Mitsubishi, zero down!”
Grampa: “Really? I got a Mitsubishi Zero down too, over the Pacific.”
your grandpa is really old
I guess we’re pretty old because we got that joke.
So’s the joke.
I wish police accident reports would contain a box to check denoting if the motor vehicle had or had not window tint below the A/S line if they were involved with a pedestrian strike.
Don’t know about your area, but I increasingly see more vehicles with their entire front windshield tinted.
This would help track these types of offense.
The whole 0-0-0 thing reminds me of a conversation I had with a guy who was in Mitsubishi product comms for a long time. They did the same kind of deal in the early 2000s, and it led to a big problem because of the amount of subprime borrowers their credit arm wound up with.
And nope, still don’t like this song (though I did like the Wiseguys track they used around that time, too)
Came for this comment, left satisfied.
I’m assuming the ideal terms only apply to “well qualified buyers,” as the authoritative-yet-friendly voiceover always says.
I heard Ooh-La-La on XM yesterday and was super excited to point out to my kids that we all thought the “Turn it out” voice sounded like Eric Cartman.
I have nothing of value to add. To anything.
They also did silly lease deals based on very high (unrealistically so) residual values. When those cars came back from lease, nobody bought them at the high residual and they now had a ton of off-lease vehicles competing with the new models they couldn’t sell.
Totally worth the Out of Way today. As always.
(I’m camping and have to ride my bike to a special spot to get Internet to read TMD.)
I find Matt’s perspective on things to be exceptionally broad and nuanced. That takes a very smart person. Pay attention folks. 🙂
0-0-0 is certainly getting my attention. If I can get a job, I can see myself committing to a Mach-E before the world stops buying anything.
Get a job at an office w/office charging.
The zero percent interest portion is the one that matters. Buyers that have cash on hand to but a car can invest the money they would put as a down payment and come out ahead over the course of the loan.
People who can’t afford the payments will be caught by the fine print and have their 0% converted to whatever market rate Ford sets and be further behind the 8-ball.
Ford is smart to do this, I just hope the Street/analysts are ready for some lumpy-ass sales numbers in the next few quarters as demand gets pushed and pulled around. I’m still happy I made the investment in their stock, and this might move the needle toward buying a car from them. But being honest, 48 months is a pretty short term these day, and since most shoppers are “payment sensitive,” it’s hard to convince the average Joe that 48/0% is better than 72/5% because they’ll still see a lower payment with the latter option.
I’m fine with no down payment, not super enthusiastic about deferred payments, and VERY bullish on GAP insurance for anyone taking this option.
Thick A-pillars (forced by absurd anti roof crush safety requirements that have only managed to return ::checks notes:: a ‘neutral to positive’ return on occupant safety) make modern cars more difficult to see out of, which increases the chances of running into something or someone?
Shocked Pikachu Face.jpg.
It’s not like drivers and car reviewers have been complaining about that exact thing for the last 25 years. Nevermind them, they’re all idiots. But now that someone has waved the magic Statistics stick at the problem, it’s real. Amazing!
Sorry, my sarcasm gland may be acting up this morning.
To be fair, thicker/stronger A-pillars are also utilized in small overlap frontal crash tests as well. It would be interesting to compare US market A-pillars to those of exclusively non-US market cars to see if there’s really a thickness difference, since roof crush and small overlap tests are mostly exclusive to USDM.
Well, at least the hoods and beltlines are higher. Who needs outward visibility?
Traded Ford Fiesta in for Subaru Impreza. Even though the Impreza is larger it is easier to make lanes changes, backup and maneuver all around. The difference is so much more glass, lower belt line and dashboard/cowl, thinner pillars and lovely large side view mirrors. I only use the rear view camera to check for kids or animals before backing up. Many a time in the Fiesta I found the large and closer a-pillars would block an on coming vehicle from view when glancing back and forth at intersections.
Zero % interest rate for 48 months, Ford? Okay, you have my attention. Unlikely to buy a car with a blue oval on the hood, but at least I’d take a look now.
i feel like every 5th car I see is one of the new Broncos.. they are selling those like hotcakes in Denver.
Is the “Bluecifer” vanity plate available in Colorado?
it is not, BUT.. i have 2 excellent plates on my two cars.
I have this on my BMW – https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F2yhTjBXsAEJirQ.jpg:large
And my wife has this one on the Jeep. https://www.colorado.edu/cedar/sites/default/files/article-thumbnail/unknown_0.png
I’ve always been perplexed by the whole “no payments for 90 days” scam. It’s not like the companies are footing the bill for you during that time…you’re basically just extending your loan for an extra 3 months.
Do people really fall for it? Don’t answer that….
Because people have the attention span of goldfish and want nice things.
It’s what keeps our economy going.
This is true, our social economic system is based on buying shit.
It’s based on buying all of the shit we can afford and then financing the shit we can’t
I mean, if you think about it, no country in the world will give you money and/or stuff on the promise you’ll pay for it later like the U.S. In many places you have to buy your HOUSE outright – can’t even finance that. It’s hard to say, “No” to that kind of access to a higher standard of living.
I think this whole reliance on credit is a fairly new phenomenon – 1970’s, IIRC.
I mean, that’s half a century-ish.
I think the small but distinctive thing is they always say “I needed” or “I had to” which is more in line with how the general public is conditioned by the whole system.
The gulf between “need” vs “want” is the Grand Canyon. What most people see is a crack in the sidewalk.
Let me FTFY:
Because people have the attention span of a goldfish and… What was I saying? Squirrel!
At least on a zero interest deal, you aren’t accruing interest during the pause. Keep a little of your money in a 3 month CD or something and grab a couple bucks of interest, I guess?
On a loan with interest, though. Just a way for them to charge a little more interest and make people think it’s a deal.
Set up a CD ladder or Bonds ladder specifically set up for you monthly bills.
Me trying to be optimistic: If you find yourself cash strapped and suddenly car-less and/or using an insurance payout to not be underwater, it could make a ton of financial sense.
Reality: impulse buyers get an ultra serotonin dump by how “free” the car is right this second. 90 days in the future is too far for them to consider.
Yeah, those are very specific and well-thought-out situations listed in column “A.”
When I sold cars in the early oughts, that was more than half of our clients — car recently wrecked or died, needed something on Saturday to get to work on Monday.
Every since that point, and much to the chagrin of my wife, I keep a running mental list of cars I would buy in a pinch so I’m not out there making impulsive, uninformed decisions.
Ditto, I always have an idea of the car I’d buy if I had to have new wheels in 48 hours.
I’m the same way. If my Kona N spontaneously combusted (unlikely, but not impossible) I’d spend a Saturday or take a day off work and look at the new 4Runner (id), the Honda Passport (ego), and the Forester hybrid (super ego).
I love the delineation, we need more of that 🙂
Audi S5 (id)
Mini Countryman S, manual (ego)
Honda CR-V hybrid (super ego)
The tech overloaded nature of the new S5 coupled with the fact that the American market doesn’t get the hybridization has really dampened my interest in it, unfortunately. Reviews have been pretty positive but I just don’t think I could live with so much screen.
That being said the last gen ones are out there in the 30s if you don’t mind some miles and you can get a nice one in the 40s. However if I was looking in that class I’d have a hard time choosing anything but an M340i/M440i GC because B58.
I like this game!
AMG E-class wagon (id)
Honda CRV hybrid (ego)
Bus pass and rideshare (super ego)
That is brilliant. My wife always says it takes me six months to zero in on the car we’re going to get once we decide to get a new (or new to us) one. I’d love to tell her that’s crap, but it’s not.
We’ve never lost one to an accident, and the ones we’ve driven to the junk yard (gingerly, because, um, brakes) gave us plenty of warning they were on the way out.
I’m starting to put a lot of repairs into the F-150. This 0-0-0 thing may be worth a look now, just in case something big goes boom on me.
Stopping by an off-airport Enterprise location and renting a car for a week is a far better idea than trying to rush a purchase that by rights most people can’t actually afford.
But we all know that.
We got the commuter Ionic hybrid at the beginning of Covid. A 2019 in 2020. 0% down. 0% interest for 7 years. Up to 50mpg and gas was $1.10 per gallon at the time. Like a 2.65% mortgage I will never pay them off early. PS. When I fill the tank it tells me I have 600 miles+ of range. Like 12 gallons. Makes owning the 99 RX300 at 18mpg a rational decision
But I don’t have to pay for my car until October! What do you mean “scam”? Thats three free months! /sarcasm
I guess if you just go by the feels, it FEELS like getting a great deal, so you feel better about the purchase?
Lets be honest, the car I’ve been dailying for the past 5 years would have been paid off by just the total amount three payments they are deferring, so I’m not actually the target demographic here.
Any time I’ve obtained an auto loan, the lender would usually offer to begin payments in 30-60, sometimes even 90 days. I tell them to begin this month, I bought the car, I was prepared to make payments on it right away, no need to accrue unnecessary interest.
My last loan had that, I registered on the website and started making online payments that month.
Same reasoning, If I can’t afford the payment right now, why would I buy the thing in the first place?
Tangent. Played in a Fantasy Football League years ago . . . At the live draft we all had to ante up . . . $200 per team. I was the treasurer one year and a guy handed me a check and and said, “Don’t cash that until the end of the season,” I handed him is check back and told him to come back next year. WTF?
That’s wild, imagine being THAT bad with money.
Allow me to play devil’s advocate;
In this particular offer there is no interest accruing so deferring a payment is not harmful other than not starting to pay down a depreciating asset.
However, let’s assume that your monthly payment on a new Mustang (or whatever) is going to be $750/mo after a sizable down payment since 48 months is not a long repayment timeframe today.
Generally speaking it is not advisable to completely empty out your savings account for a down payment on a vehicle. You could, however, put an extra $2250 down on the car if you have that in savings and repay yourself over 3 months using that offer which would lower payments allowing for slightly easier budgeting.
Fair enough, I get that. Incidentally, I went to the Ford site and priced out a Bronco optioned the way I’d like it. It came out to 56K, and with 10k down cash and 10K down trade, it was 770 for 48months at zero %.
For the 20K down I could buy a nice condition OJ Bronco.
Sad trombone sound. Bronco is not eligible…
But damn, what a time to try and buy a car. $20K down payment and you’re still paying almost $800/mo. Jesus.
Yeah, I ran the numbers for kicks and giggles. It does look like it applies to leftover 2024’s, but good luck finding one.
I file this one under the same thing as “not accepting free trials” — I don’t want to be lulled into a false sense of security by owning something and paying nothing for it.
It’s also scary (as I commented above) because the depreciation in those first 3 months is huge. This feels like an easy soft sell for GAP insurance.
I had this exact conversation back when shopping for home refi. Person kept talking about how “no payments for 3 months! What a great benefit!” In which I asked if they were still charging interest. On answering yes, I reminded her that it wasn’t such a great deal then.
Had a lot of fun conversations with people during that time that showed me how terribly un-educated most of the public is about finances given the shit these companies try, and succeed, at pulling.
I was shopping for a home in 2004, right around peak mortgage BS. I had a budget, so I was shopping at that price – the price I could afford even accounting for some financial bumps along the way.
I literally had to argue with the mortgage guy to get a fixed rate on a loan value I could afford. He was literally pushing me towards 5/1 interest-only loans at more than double the value. He assured me I’d be able to refinance when the i/o period expired, which turned out to be 2009.
I couldn’t even refinance the smaller loan until 2013, so mortgage man was wrong.
The mortgage man was wrong in his advise to you. He was right in his actions for him.
I should have said he was incorrect.
In the mid-1990’s I was early in my work career and I had just moved San Francisco. I window shopped houses/condos and discovered the bank was totally willing to loan me $400k. Even the young version of me knew that was an irresponsible amount of money to loan to me at that point in my career/finances.
With a crystal ball, you may have taken that loan.
With a crystal ball I’d be typing away on my super yacht.
We all may have been. I sold the first place as soon as I could do so profitably after renting it out for a few years. If I had held it as a rental for a few more years I would have taken in $300k more.
I recently read somewhere that there is now an option available to order delivery fast food on a payment plan. Kind of funny, because, well that’s what people use credit cards for, but anyway…This is gonna end real well. Real well. Especially with marijuana legalization.
At this stage I’m equal parts a guitar player and a guitar collector. I’m fortunate in that I can afford some pretty cool shit but since I hate spending money I’m very, very, very selective. Anyway, as you might imagine (like with cars) I’m constantly looking over inventory so I don’t miss out on an opportunity.
Anyway, all of the major online music merchants now offer financing and push it hard. When I first started playing and buying in the mid 2000s this was completely unheard of. I suppose if there’s little to no interest and you’re one of those high rollers who deals in $10,000+ Gibsons, Fenders, Paul Reed Smiths, and assorted rarities then I can see it but the thought of financing a sub $1,000 guitar is incredibly bleak to me.
You cannot use credit cards to buy cannabis. Since it’s not federally legal and the credit card companies cross state lines, it’s technically some sort of money laundering.
I was implying that cannabis users are more likely to want their food NOW. Whether or not they have the funds.
**zoom**
Yeah, but they’re less likely to remember about wanting food long enough to actually order it.
At least I am.
Yes, you can do that with DoorDash/Klarna, which not unsurprisingly is seeing an uptick in short term loans being defaulted upon. Also a fun fact for these short term loan companies – you get no benefit to your credit score if you pay on time, but you get dinged if you don’t.
Most of the time the interest is accumulating, making this especially bad. At least with this program you’re just deferring a payment or three and not adding excess interest to the backend.
I knew a young woman who had just graduated college and had a bunch of expenses moving to a new town for her new job. Her old clunker that had got her through college was on its last legs; she needed a new reliable ride.
The 90 days grace period promo came in real handy when stuff like her first/last month’s rent and moving expenses were hitting all at once.
She then proceeded to pay off the car in five years and drive it until it was 11 years old, so she got her money’s worth out of it.
There’s situations where it can make sense.
But overall, I agree with your assessment.
I did for my first new car. I took my job offer letter to a Nissan dealership a couple months before I graduated from college and they financed a loan on a new 2000 Frontier with no payments for 90 days. That got me to my first paycheck. (Looking back that was about a $40K truck in 2025 dollars financed on the promise of a job)
About the same time my brother got a balloon loan from Honda on a new CBR600 that was basically interest only for 2 years and then a lump sum payment. He had a part-time job collecting carts at a grocery store. (He never made a payment – crashed and totaled it less than a month after buying it)
The pre-08 days were WILD for financing.
Thankfully I learned a bit about money in my early 20s and haven’t done anything nearly as stupid since. Now we are about maxing out our 401Ks, IRAs, HSA and living on 1 income / saving the other. Our oldest vehicle is a 2004 and the newest a 2017. No more new cars for us.