Why not offer a federal tax credit to consumers who purchase from "Big 3"?

[totallyfrazzled]

Originally Posted by bentlebee

That isn't what the OP stated. People like I..I have never bought a car using a car loan...just paid cash!!!

I'm the same way; the first and last time I ever financed a car was back in the late 1960s. For every other car I've ever owned, I have paid cash.

But people such as we are in the minority in this county. The VAST majority of car buyers take out a loan. And I'd venture to say that a majority of those people don't keep the car more than 5 years, at which point they buy another new (financed) car. I don't think such behavior is wise (I don't think any kind of debt except the type I mentioned in an earlier post, is wise!) but it's just "sad but true" that most people do NOT pay cash for a NEW car.

IMO once the typical new-car-buying customer reaches their 50s or older, they are more apt to pay cash (either because they can now afford to, or simply have finally wised up about debt) and probably more apt to keep that new car longer than they did when they were younger.

But until the majority's basic underlying consumer mentality ("I Want What I Want, And I Want It Now") undergoes a serious change, most of the new-car-buying public is going to finance their purchase. And for a hypothetical Big 3 Tax Credit scenario to have the desired effect, it would NEED to be utilized by a very large number of people. We "cash buyers" would make up a small percentage of that large number.