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Subprime financing on the rise in new car sales, leasing too

We all remember the financial crisis that began several years back. At its core was a splurge of subprime lending for housing loans. The housing bubble burst, triggering a collapse of the mortgage-backed securities market. Apparently, those types of loans still exist in the automotive industry, and the market share for these types of "nonprime, subprime, and deep subprime," loans has grown 13.6 percent compared to the third quarter a year ago.
According to an Automotive News report, high-risk lending expanded to 24.8 percent of total loans in Q3, up from 21.9 percent for this time last year. As this level increased, average credit scores of borrowers dropped to 755, down from 763 a year ago. In that time, the average financing amount increased $90 per vehicle, to $25,963.
At 818, Volvo maintains the highest per-owner credit score, while Mitsubishi has the lowest, at 694. The highest rate of borrowers was at Toyota, with 14 percent of the market, followed by Ford with 13.1 percent and Chevrolet at 11.1.

2016 Chevy Volt will start at $33,995*

One of the biggest mysteries regarding the 2016 Chevy Volt has been revealed. Chevy announced today that the next-gen plug-in hybrid will have an MSRP of $33,995, which includes GM's $825 destination fee. That's a few hundred dollars less than the current Volt, which has an MSRP of $34,170. The second-gen Volt is about more than a price cut, though. The car has an increased all-electric range (50 miles vs. 38 in the current model) and better fuel economy. Once the battery power runs out – which it doesn't do, in most situations, since 90 percent of all trips are electric-only – the no-longer-premium-only gas engine offers 41 miles per gallon, up from 37 mpg. We know most buyers are price-conscious, and with the still-available federal tax incentive of up to $7,500, the new Volt can be had for $26,495. That should put a spring back into sluggish Volt sales, which are down 46 percent year-over-year so far in 2015. Through the end of April, GM has sold a cumulative 76,136 first-gen Volts since introducing the car in 2010. Chevrolet Announces 2016 Volt Pricing Next Gen delivers more technology at new price as low as $26,495 DETROIT – The Chevrolet Volt is poised to continue to bring new owners to the electric plug-in family. Pricing will be as low as $26,495 after the full federal tax credit of $7,500. (Federal tax credit can range from $0 up to $7,500.) In California, the vehicle's largest market, residents of the state will be able to purchase the all-new Volt for as low as $24,995 after state and Federal incentives. The 2016 model will start at $33,995 MSRP, including an $825 destination fee (excluding tax, title, license and dealer fees). This is almost $1,200 less than the current generation Volt. "The next generation Chevrolet Volt delivers more technology, the ability to drive further between gas fill ups and now with even more value to our customers. It's what our loyal Volt owners told us they wanted," said Steve Majoros, Director, Chevrolet Marketing. "We are confident we will continue to attract new customers to Volt with the vehicle's product improvements and attractive price." The Volt continues to be a success with the brand with nearly 70 percent of Volt owners trading in a non-GM product or adding to their household fleet in 2014, the highest of any Chevy nameplate. The number one trade-in for the Volt is the Toyota Prius. To date more than 75,000 first generation Volt owners have driven hundreds of millions of EV miles.

A car writer's year in new vehicles [w/video]

Christmas is only a week away. The New Year is just around the corner. As 2014 draws to a close, I'm not the only one taking stock of the year that's we're almost shut of. Depending on who you are or what you do, the end of the year can bring to mind tax bills, school semesters or scheduling dental appointments. For me, for the last eight or nine years, at least a small part of this transitory time is occupied with recalling the cars I've driven over the preceding 12 months. Since I started writing about and reviewing cars in 2006, I've done an uneven job of tracking every vehicle I've been in, each year. Last year I made a resolution to be better about it, and the result is a spreadsheet with model names, dates, notes and some basic facts and figures. Armed with this basic data and a yen for year-end stories, I figured it would be interesting to parse the figures and quantify my year in cars in a way I'd never done before. The results are, well, they're a little bizarre, honestly. And I think they'll affect how I approach this gig in 2015. {C} My tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015 it'll be as high as 73. Let me give you a tiny bit of background about how automotive journalists typically get cars to test. There are basically two pools of vehicles I drive on a regular basis: media fleet vehicles and those available on "first drive" programs. The latter group is pretty self-explanatory. Journalists are gathered in one location (sometimes local, sometimes far-flung) with a new model(s), there's usually a day of driving, then we report back to you with our impressions. Media fleet vehicles are different. These are distributed to publications and individual journalists far and wide, and the test period goes from a few days to a week or more. Whereas first drives almost always result in a piece of review content, fleet loans only sometimes do. Other times they serve to give context about brands, segments, technology and the like, to editors and writers. So, adding up the loans I've had out of the press fleet and things I've driven at events, my tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015, it'll be as high as 73. At one of the buff books like Car and Driver or Motor Trend, reviewers might rotate through five cars a week, or more. I know that number sounds high, but as best I can tell, it's pretty average for the full-time professionals in this business.