2020] THE FAST AND THE USURIOUS 1269
analyzing whether there is evidence of discriminatory lending in the auto loan
market,
44
See Kerwin Kofi Charles et al., Rates for Vehicle Loans: Race and Loan Source , 98 AM. ECON.
R
EV. (PAPERS & PROC.) 2008, at 315; Mark A. Cohen, Imperfect Competition in Auto Lending:
Subjective Markup, Racial Disparity, and Class Action Litigation , 8 R
EV. L. & ECON. 21 (2012);
Alexander W. Butler et al., Discrimination in the Auto Loan Market (Dec. 12, 2019) (unpublished
article), http://ssrn.com/abstract=3301009 [https://perma.cc/P535-Y7SN].
as well as a parallel body of literature examining discrimination in the
pricing of non-financed car sales.
45
Beyond this, there is a motley collection of ec-
onomics articles that consider the impact of the 2009 “cash for clunkers” trade-in
subsidization program,
46
the effect of liquidity constraints on subprime auto loan
borrowers,
47
and the relative leniency of the credit terms of captive auto finance
companies.
48
There is no scholarly literature whatsoever, however, that considers the general
institutional and transactional structure of the auto lending market and the failures
that exist in that market other than discriminatory lending. At best, there are
reports by consumer advocacy organizations that touch on some of these struc-
tural issues but they do not explore them in depth.
49
https://
www.responsiblelending.org/other-consumer-loans/auto-financing/research-analysis/CRL-Auto-Non-
Neg-Report.pdf [https://perma.cc/6W3X-R465]; D
ELVIN DAVIS & JOSHUA M. FRANK, CTR. FOR
RESPONSIBLE LENDING, UNDER THE HOOD: AUTO LOAN INTEREST RATE HIKES INFLATE CONSUMER
COSTS AND LOAN LOSSES (2011), https://responsiblelending.org/other-consumer-loans/auto-financing/
research-analysis/Under-the-Hood-Auto-Dealer-Rate-Markups.pdf [https://perma.cc/WF2Z-SNWK];
L
ISA RICE & ERICH SCHWARTZ JR., NAT’L FAIR HOUS. ALL., DISCRIMINATION WHEN BUYING A CAR:
H
OW THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN CAN AFFECT YOUR CAR-SHOPPING EXPERIENCE (2018), https://
nationalfairhousing.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Discrimination-When-Buying-a-Car-FINAL-1-11-
2018.pdf [https://perma.cc/AAZ8-9A2U]; V
AN ALST ET AL., AUTO ADD-ONS ADD UP, supra note 34;
V
AN ALST, FUELING FAIR PRACTICES, supra note 34.
This Article represents a first
44.
45. See Ian Ayres, Fair Driving: Gender and Race Discrimination in Retail Car Negotiations , 104
H
ARV. L. REV. 817 (1991) (finding price discrimination again women and minorities); Ian Ayres,
Further Evidence of Discrimination in New Car Negotiations and Estimates of Its Cause, 94 M
ICH. L.
R
EV. 109 (1995) (same); Ian Ayres & Peter Siegelman, Race and Gender Discrimination in Bargaining
for a New Car, 85 A
M. ECON. REV. 304 (1995) (same); Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, Dealer Price
Discrimination in New Car Purchases: Evidence from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, 104 J. P
OL.
E
CON. 622 (1996) (finding no evidence of price discrimination against women and minorities); David
W. Harless & George E. Hoffer, Do Women Pay More for New Vehicles? Evidence from Transaction
Price Data, 92 A
M. ECON. REV. 270 (2002) (same); Fiona Scott Morton et al., Consumer Information
and Discrimination: Does the Internet Affect the Pricing of New Cars to Women and Minorities?, 1
Q
UANTITATIVE MARKETING & ECON. 65 (2003) (finding that, although in-person minority buyers pay
more than white buyers, there is no statistical evidence of discrimination).
46. See Mark Hoekstra et al., Cash for Corollas: When Stimulus Reduces Spending , 9 A
M. ECON. J.:
A
PPLIED ECON., July 2017, at 1; Atif Mian & Amir Sufi, The Effects of Fiscal Stimulus: Evidence from
the 2009 Cash for Clunkers Program , 127 Q.J. E
CON. 1107 (2012).
47. See William Adams et al., Liquidity Constraints and Imperfect Information in Subprime Lending,
99 A
M. ECON. REV. 49 (2009); Orazio P. Attanasio et al., Credit Constraints in the Market for Consumer
Durables: Evidence from Micro Data on Car Loans , 49 I
NT’L ECON. REV. 401 (2008); Liran Einav et al.,
Contract Pricing in Consumer Credit Markets, 80 E
CONOMETRICA 1387 (2012); Liran Einav et al., The
Impact of Credit Scoring on Consumer Lending, 44 R
AND J. ECON. 249 (2013).
48. See John M. Barron et al., Emergence of Captive Finance Companies and Risk Segmentation in
Loan Markets: Theory and Evidence, 40 J. M
ONEY, CREDIT & BANKING 173 (2008).
49.
See, e.g., D
ELVIN DAVIS, CTR. FOR RESPONSIBLE LENDING, NON-NEGOTIABLE: NEGOTIATION
DOESN’T HELP AFRICAN AMERICANS AND LATINOS ON DEALER-FINANCED CAR LOANS (2014),