As if Cars Weren't Already a Money Sink...

People have found a way to make auto-ownership even more of a mug's game than it already is, as described in the LA Times (which I discovered via WC Varones). By repeatedly trading in their vehicles for newer models, all the while rolling the negative equity into larger car loans, Americans have dug mortgage-sized holes from themselves.

Special mention goes to the Gerhardt family of Clinton, Oklahoma (pictured in utter defeat above):

Cindy Gerhardt has rolled over so much debt on successive vehicle purchases -- five in three years -- that she now owes almost $43,000 on two trucks worth no more than $29,000 and, she says, perhaps as little as $22,000.

Five times in three years! There are some frightening statistics in the article; it's definitely worth your time to read it. The upshot: if the numbers bandied about in this article are true, the credit crunch we're experiencing is going to get much worse.