Not relevant to the point that credit card interest is generally higher than car loan interest, the couple in the article had both. They might be getting screwed on whatever they bought on their credit card too. The last car I bought was in 2012, they had a "no interest" deal or $500 "cash back", after doing the simple math, I settled for "none of the above" and paid cash.
I don't do trade ins anymore either, I either sell my old car or give it to one of the g/kids if I can't find a buyer, there's always a needy g/kid in college somewhere, I have 14 of them.
If you buy a new car from the dealership, you are getting it hard. If you don’t believe me, wait a year and sell it. There is nothing wrong with buying a car from the dealership if you have piles of money lying around.
But if you buy a new Honda Odyssey on a 6 year note because you need a dependable car to haul around the kids you are pretending are your’s, you’re foolish. If you own it a year and some drunk Mexican slams into it hard enough to total it, you will have to pay even more to get a new Honda minivan.