Marketplace reported on October 7 that auto loan delinquencies are rising at LaSalle State Bank in Illinois and across lower-income borrowers, with payments sliding from 30 or 35 days late to 45 days. New vehicle prices are near $50,000 and used near $27,000, both up about 41% since the pandemic, pushing average new-car payments to $765 a month. Coverage has since widened the frame, describing delinquent auto loans as surging across a $1.7 trillion market. Economists call the trend evidence of the K-shaped economy, though Oxford Economics expects only a tenth-of-a-point drag on overall spending.