There's an ironic justice in the sense that the motoring industry, which is the source of world woe, is being hit the worst by high fuel and food prices. Kunstler predicted once that in future we would not be able to afford 'irony'. And it's true. People aren't going to see the entertaining side, or take happy ironic pleasure in the reality of losing their cars.
Entertainment overall is set to become less 'ironic', and more serious, but not necessarily less escapist. Probably everyone wants to escape any way and by any means possible.
Johannesburg - Auction warehouses are full of glittering 4x4s and expensive sedans, driving the message home to the previous owners the high price to be paid for over-indebtedness.
Car repossessions have risen by up to 20 percent year on year. But losing your 4x4 is nothing compared with the crunch when your home is repossessed. Remax has predicted that up to 17 percent of South Africans could lose their homes this year.
We should brace ourselves for hard times ahead. The consumer price index excluding rates on mortgage bonds was hovering at 7.9 percent year-on-year in November instead of between 3 percent and 6 percent as targeted by the SA Reserve Bank.
Nowhere has the effect of interest rate hikes been felt more than in the vehicle market. The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA this week said new vehicle sales reflected a sharp decline of 15.1 percent last month compared to December 2006. Repossessions are also on the increase.
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