Car Loan

Fear not, Tesla drivers. When you take your Model S into the shop and need a loaner car, you'll get... another Model S.

The percentage of car sales with a 72-month loan (or longer) has hit record levels.

Interest.com has taken a look at the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the US to determine which median-income households in those areas can afford to purchase a new car. As it turns out, only those living in Washington, D.C. can realistically swing the payment on an average-priced model. In 2012, new cars and light trucks carried a median MSRP of $30,550, and Interest.com used the 20/4/10 rule to examine what exactly is affordable in each

The percentage of 60-day delinquencies on car loans nudged upward in the final months of 2012, the first increase in delinquency rates since the recession and financial meltdown began in 2008.

Fisker Automotive has had a tough year, making the news for everything from recalls to presidential politics – Mitt Romney Danny King

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.

For regular readers of AOL Autos, it might come as a surprise that some people don't know how the whole car loan process works. But a recent move by the FTC to shut down a predatory lender shows there are plenty of scams afoot.

For car shoppers doing their math on lifecycle ownership costs, hybrid electric vehicles always present the challenge of being more expensive – maybe $5,000 more – than comparable non-hybrid models. High gasoline prices can help tip the scale in favor of gas-electrics, as do great loan and lease deals. Resale value is another factor in the equation, and several hybrid models, including a plug-in hybrid version, have been on the market long enough to show their long-term value.

In a move that welcomes former pieces of General Motors back into the fold, GM Financial has reached a deal with Ally Financial, formerly GMAC, to buy a piece of the company's international operations. The $4.2 billion deal is for Ally's Latin America, Europe and China operations.

Think of it as a refi going to the highest bidder.

The 0-60 mile per hour acceleration time of the top-of-the-line Tesla Model S is 4.4 seconds. Now, the federal government is looking for Tesla Motors to similarly pick up the pace.

Things just got a little better for Better Place.

One indicator of the status of our economy is the rate at which car owners are able to make payments, or rather, aren't. The rate at which owners can't get the check in the mail for their new car is called the delinquency rate, and according to a Los Angeles Times report, it has fallen to an all-time low.

Automotive News reports Chrysler owes some of its recent sales success to a resurgence of subprime loans. Chrysler has a history of working with customers burdened with questionable finance histories, and lenders have begun to loosen credit restrictions. As a result, 29 out of every 100 auto loans for new Chrysler models went to buyers with a credit score under 680 in the first quarter of this year. Experian Automotive classifies loans tie

Subprime lending is on the rise throughout the auto industry, up 11 percent from the first quarter of last year. From the perspective of many auto dealers, that's a good thing.

Nearly everyone in America with a car loan is making the payment on time, the Detroit Free Press is reporting.

Who needs the federal government when you have a big Chinese company behind you?

In this case, the federal government sneezes, and central Ohio catches a cold.