Driven to Debt: Social Reproduction and (Auto)Mobility in Los Angeles
As important as car access is in many metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, obtaining and maintaining a personal vehicle is expensive. More than 80% of new car and 50% of used car purchases are financed through loans. In fact, auto loans are the third-largest source of consumer debt in the U.S. Consumers with credit issues or lower incomes are frequently offered subprime loans with high-interest rates. Such deals now account for one-quarter of all auto loans. The costs of these loans are particularly onerous for Angelenos already struggling financially.
There is much to be learned about the growth in subprime lending and the types of policy solutions that could be adopted to reverse this trend. This brief draws lessons from feminist political and economic scholarship and research in the fields of transportation and geography to shed light on auto lending in the context of “the financialization of everyday life.”
