The Daily Valet. - 9/23/22, Friday
✔️ Would You Willingly Overpay?
Friday, September 23rd Edition
If this was a four-day workweek, you’d be off today.
Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf
Today’s edition is presented by
Today’s Big Story
It’s Pricey to Buy a Car Today
Car buyers pay 10% above the sticker price, on average—or more if you want a Jeep, Bronco or Porsche
Shopping for a car used to mean working the dealer for the best possible price. But not these days. To get a deal—right now—anyone in the market for a new car could pay thousands over the sticker price before they drive off the lot.
I don’t know if you heard, but it’s not a great time to buy one. The market did not escape the pandemic unscathed by the supply chain issues that have plagued so many industries. In this case, a microchip shortage is to blame for much of the production hold-up. Another pandemic side effect? It inadvertently increased disposable income for millions, which in turn boosted car demand.
Some analysts thought new car prices hit their peak last December. But they soared to new records during the summer and are holding steady. For new cars, the average transaction price reached an estimated $46,259 in August—the highest on record, reports CNBC.
And now, as demand continues to exceed supply, dealers are even charging a premium over the manufacturer’s suggested retail price on new vehicles, according to car shopping site iSeeCars. After crunching the numbers on 1.9 million new car listings, analysts determined that the average price of a new vehicle is roughly 10% higher than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP).
“Consumers are willing to pay well above sticker price for new cars because inventory is so scarce and because they know that new car pricing is not expected to improve until 2023 at the earliest,” said Karl Brauer, iSeeCars’ executive analyst. He then added, “It’s pretty brutal.”
And 10% markup is just the average. Gear Patrol reports that certain popular vehicles are commanding much more than that. For instance, the Jeep Wrangler is the vehicle with the greatest markup. Currently, it’s selling for 24.4% over the MSRP, or roughly $8,433 more than retail. Followed by the Porsche Macan and the Ford Bronco. So don’t plan on going off road, unless you can afford to pay extra.
↦ Meanwhile: Financing any type of vehicle is also getting more expensive, as the Federal Reserve’s rate-hiking cycle pushes up the cost of auto loans.
‘Remarkable Advances’ in Cancer Treatments
Cancer death rates have fallen steadily in the U.S., with more survivors than ever
Here's some good news to end the week: More people are surviving cancer than ever before in the United States, according to a new report [PDF] from the American Association for Cancer Research.
In the past three years, the number of cancer survivors in the U.S. increased by more than a million. There are 18 million survivors in America as of January. The report notes that there were only 3 million U.S. cancer survivors in 1971. (I, myself, am a skin cancer survior and my friend Lynne kicked breast cancer's ass a few years ago.)
Health officials say improved treatments, diagnostics and screening are what's making a difference. This matters because cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the U.S. and it's estimated that more than 600,000 Americans will die from cancer this year alone. But this report shows that amazing strides are being made.
This includes eight new anticancer medications approved by the FDA between August 2021 and July 2022 as well as 10 previously approved medications that have been expanded to treat other types of cancer.
↦ FYI: Another reason cancer rates are decreasing is due to the decline in smoking. Rates of smoking among U.S. adults have also decreased from 42% in 1965 to 12.5% in 2020.
Partner
Why blend in, when you can stand out? A new fashion collaboration is turning heads while donating proceeds in support of new artists.
Will the Four-Day Workweek Become the New Standard?
Dozens of British companies have been testing it. Most see no loss in productivity.
It appears the four-day workweek is working. More than 70 British companies are currently testing out the format. And, halfway through the six-month trial, most respondents are saying there's been no loss in productivity. And some have even reported a significant improvement.
“The figures back up the anecdotal feedback we've been getting from companies across all of our global trials—that this has been an overwhelmingly positive experience,” Joe O’Connor, CEO of 4 Day Week Global told Forbes. “The pioneers who have taken the leap to participate in this trial are challenging deeply embedded cultural and societal norms about how we think about the workweek, and work itself.”
Some leaders of companies in the trial said the four-day week had given employees more time to exercise, cook, spend time with their families and take up hobbies, boosting their well-being and making them more energized and productive when they were on the clock. But some critics worry about added costs and reduced competitiveness, especially when many European companies are already lagging rivals in other regions.
According to the New York Times, talk of a four-day workweek has been around for decades. In 1956, then Vice President Richard Nixon said he foresaw it in the “not too distant future,” though it has not materialized on any large scale. But the pandemic shifted everyone's idea on hybrid and remote work and raised questions, like: Are we working five days a week just because we've done it that way for more than a century, or is it really the most productive way to work?
A Weekend Pairing
‘A Jazzman’s Blues’ + a Southside Cocktail
Known for delivering Black comedies like Madea, Tyler Perry takes audiences in a different direction with his latest film A Jazzman's Blues—streaming today on Netflix. Based on a script he wrote 27 years ago, the film is a period coming-of-age drama about forbidden love. Variety calls the film—a tonal change of pace for Perry—accomplished, noting that it proves why the filmmaker “should get serious more often.”
Bayou (played by Joshua Boone) is a young Black man living in 1930s Georgia, is disparaged by his father and brother and struggles to find confidence in his singing talent and sensitive personality, until he falls for Leanne (Solea Pfeiffer), a local girl who teaches him how to read. While Bayou finds a new life, and fame, as a jazz singer in Chicago, trouble ensues when he returns home to help Leanne escape her husband and to help rescue his mother's speakeasy business. Reviews for the melodrama have been mixed. Deadline says it's enjoyable but should be watched like “a Sunday afternoon cable rerun.” But Shifter calls it Perry's “best work yet.”
↦ Your Pairing:A favorite of jazz musicians and prohibition-era bootleggers alike, the Southside cocktail lands somewhere between a gin Mojito sans soda water or a Gimlet with mint. Punch says it’s as delicious as it is simple.
In Other News
Other Things We’re Talking About Today
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Partner
Style for a Good Cause
Psycho Bunny teams up with tastemakers for new charity collection
Color Outside the Lines hoodie, $195 by Psycho Bunny
Psycho Bunny doesn't do anything quietly. That's just not their style. The spirited sportswear brand has teamed up with equally loud tastemakers for the second iteration of their yearly initiative, Color Outside the Lines.
This year, the label collaborated with celebrities known for leading lives of creativity and purpose to encourage today's youth to express themselves artistically through their capsule collection's partnership with YoungArts. The 2022 lineup includes Daddy Yankee, Kendrick Sampson, Justise Winslow, Brother Nature (Kelvin Peña) and Jay Versace.
It was these men's past and their defining moments that served as inspiration for the patches that adorn the limited-edition collection. Daddy Yankee's patches, for example, were designed in collaboration with illustrator Raul Urias, and feature symbols that represent his unique perspective and journey as a musician. Kendrick Sampson drew on influences from his hometown, and with illustrator Darien Birks, came up with a design that includes some life-changing words of wisdom he once found on a bathroom door. The collection is on sale now and 50% of the net proceeds goes to supporting the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists.
Psycho Bunny COTL sweat pants, $140
What We’re Buying
The boat shoe with a sturdier sole is ideal for all seasons. This pair from Timberland comes in a great forest green colorway, and features hand-sewn construction and an EVA footbed for extra comfort.
↦ Get It: $150 / $138 by Timberland
Today’s Deals
Expires 9/26
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Expires 9/25
↦ Want More? See all 40 sales
Morning Motto
A little faith goes a long way.
↦ Follow: @quotesbychristie
That’s all for today...
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