A general and unscientific instructive for me personally is the number of NEW vehicles on the road.
In the latest central bank report there was an increase of new vechicle sales in the first quarter this year over the same period in 2010, a single digit percentage increase but an indicator nevertheless.
The fact that for a person to either pay cash for a vehicle or qualify for credit to acquire the vehicle is an indicator of the generally good position a fair percentage of the population are in.
I know there are other factors but the reality that most new vechicles cost in excess of 150,000 and really closer to 200,000 shows that. Back in the day a registration series 10,000 cars would take sometimes a year to turn over, now you get close to three new series in a calendar year, even with the roll on roll off autos being a lower ticket item, it can still range upward of 80,000 dollars.
I know that if i am in financial difficulty, my priority wouldnt be a new car.