I have a fondness for the 1980s. The bulk of my childhood was spent during that decade, so I love the TV shows, the music, and even some of the clothes — the brighter the Dayglo colors the better, if you ask me.
But the cars? Not so much. My first car was a white 1984 Plymouth Reliant K-car, and I won’t bore you with the details of how much trouble I had with that car, which, by the way, only had an AM radio. (Can you even imagine today’s 16 year olds coping with such a lack of technology?)
What I will share with you, however, is a commercial from 1982 that I found for the Reliant’s twin, the Dodge Aries, and its sister, the equally boxy Dodge Omni hatchback.
The cars are seen from a nice aerial shot cruising highways together as the announcer talks about some of the incentives. Buyers could get from $300 to $1,000 cash back, the latter of which is still a pretty sweet deal to today’s buyers. Or, they could opt for 11.9% APR. Yes, you read that right, 11.9% APR. Suddenly, the slight uptick we’re seeing in interest rates doesn’t seem all that bad, does it?
Also of note, though the video is a bit blurry, you can still make out the words “Dealer contribution may affect final price.”
Enjoy!
If the information is NOT disclosed, there is no chance of the consumer understanding the terms of the deal for them to make an informed decision. On a loan that has a 20% discount fee, I do not understand the logic of not disclosing the amount to the consumer. If that is not important, why disclose APR?