re: Who is the national market for $80k suv's?

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Funny you should mention 2008.

My step mother was absolutely allergic to debt of any kind. Which, frankly, served her and my father very well for most of their lives.

Then, in 2007, they moved to a community that was beautiful in Florida and paid a shade over 500K cash for a home. By the end of 2008, that exact model was selling on their street for $250K. The developer went bankrupt and the golf course fell into disrepair. The upgraded club house never materialized and in the end, they sold that home for just under $240K

A greater than 260K bath in their mid-60s.

I wanted to be mad at her but at the same time, I knew my dad was shite with money and the only reason they even had the 500K ish cash in the 1st place was her.

But still. It was stupid as frick

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Not sure I understand your point here - if they had financed the home with a traditional mortgage, they'd still be 260k underwater on the home.

Also, philosophically I follow your point about not paying up front even if you could afford it when you could finance for 0%, but I goddam guarantee you that if you were a buyer, and negotiated a sales price to purchase the vehicle at 80k for 0% financing over 4-5 years, you could then go back to the dealer and say "actually, I can pay all cash upfront, but I'd like to negotiate a lower purchasing price," the dealer would listen. They have the same basic understanding of the time value of money as you do.

There's no free lunch; the folks financing at 0% are paying a higher price for the car, if the cash buyer negotiates properly.