Greg Ip

A lot of people can't afford a new car any longer, but enough can people who are just wealthy, people who are wealthy and their kids aren't wealthy, but they help them out.

You know, they're like, well, I'll help buy you the cars.

Meanwhile, tariffs haven't ended up pushing new vehicle prices much higher, says Michael Brisson at Moody's Analytics.

Automakers, they did eat a lot of the tariffs.

They were coming from a very high profit range, so they were able to take a hit to their margins.

Plus, mortgage rates are down and tax refunds are up, so consumers may have more room in their budgets for a new ride.

I'm Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace.

Today.

Great, yeah.

It went wonderful, yeah.

A lot of driving.

It's unaffordable to live here, so you have to work full-time.

Or we have to, at least.

I don't want to speak for everybody, but without child care, that's not possible, and so we'd have to move somewhere else.

It took Daisy one day to win you over that much?

Yeah.

Well, yeah, I'd say that it is a good report.

Well, yeah, I'd say that it is a good report.

The inflation rate of 2.4%, certainly a lot lower, as you were saying, than it was a few years ago.

The inflation rate of 2.4%, certainly a lot lower, as you were saying, than it was a few years ago.