Enterprise Account bao
Car Trouble
Article

Car Trouble

Gary Rivlin
Mother Jones, 2016
Read the article

Read offline

áudio gerado automaticamente
  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×
áudio gerado automaticamente

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

If you thought the 2008 US housing crash was the end of subprime bonds, think again. In this article, former New York Times reporter Gary Rivlin charts the rise of Wall Street’s latest billion-dollar baby: the subprime auto loan. He mainly focuses on the history of subprime auto-lending “pioneer” Don Foss’s auto-financing company Credit Acceptance, but Rivlin’s pointed analysis of the ongoing fight to regulate predatory auto lending carries broad, future-looking implications. getAbstract recommends this article to readers with an interest in the auto and financial markets.

Summary

In 2008, as the US housing market crashed, the subprime auto loan market was just gathering steam. However, subprime auto loans are not a recent development. In 1972, used-car salesman Don Foss pioneered the market when he established Credit Acceptance, a company that finances auto purchases.

Foss knew that by offering auto loans at inflated rates to people with poor or no credit, he stood to make big profits – and not just from the interest. If a borrower defaulted on a loan, additional revenues came from delinquency, repossession...

About the Author

Former New York Times reporter Gary Rivlin is co-editor of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. He has written five books, including Katrina: After the Flood.

Comment on this summary