I recently got into a conversation with a co-worker (also a noted contributor to The Car Blog) who asked me if he should wait until the 2008 models came out, or buy a car now. In so many words, I told him if he always held out for bigger incentives, newer models, more powerful engines, etc., that he would be in a constant state of waiting and anticipation forever.

I recently got into a conversation with a co-worker (also a noted contributor to The Car Blog) who asked me if he should wait until the 2008 models came out, or buy a car now. In so many words, I told him if he always held out for bigger incentives, newer models, more powerful engines, etc., that he would be in a constant state of waiting and anticipation forever.

We’ve all had our moments of remorse. I bought my current car near the end of its production run, just before an all-new model came out (Mazda3). The theoretical advantage of buying an older model is that, by the time it’s near the end of its lifecycle, any of the “bugs” inherent in early production models have been worked out, and I’d be getting the “best of the breed.” But when just months after you made a purchase, the new models go on sale, it’s almost impossible to avoid at least a twinge of remorse, thinking, “I should have waited for that.”

Anyone that’s worked any amount of time in the automotive media industry knows that rumors are the fuel that feeds the beast. Where would magazine “news” sections be if it weren’t for the hundreds, if not thousands of unfounded, of unsubstantiated rumors about upcoming models every year? Who are you to believe? Next year’s model is supposed to get the twin-turbo multi-valvetronic intercooled direct-injected flex-fuel engine. You patiently await the arrival of this new miracle engine for the next model year, only to be disappointed by only a larger, gaudier grille and a new steering-wheel design.

As I told my friend, if there’s something that’s sitting on a dealer’s lot that you can afford and you want…buy it. There’s always going to be something bigger, faster, and fancier just around the corner. I suppose that, without the constant tension of anticipation, there wouldn’t be much of an enthusiast publishing industry, the hundreds of enthusiast forums on the web, or the popularity of auto show unveilings. So let the rumors keep flying, and I’ll wait on the sidelines until the next time I can be a remorseful consumer.

–Edward A. Sanchez