The December sales figures for the auto industry were abysmal as expected. Chrysler is down 53% and GM is down 31%. Foreign nameplates like Toyota and Honda are down 37% and 35%, respectively.

To compound the sales declines, Americans are now getting more life out their vehicles. The median age of cars on the road now is 9 years. Go back one generation and it was only 5 or 6 years. Vehicles are made so much better now than they used to be. You can buy a car, drive it over the course of many years and do only scheduled maintenance without having any major repairs.

For example, Clark's wife has had a minivan for 5 or 6 years that only has 70,000 miles. The only non-scheduled maintenance she's needed has been to replace a front headlight that burned out. That's it. Similarly, Christa bought a used Lexus RX 300 SUV with 100,000 miles on it several years ago. It drove like a brand-new vehicle with no trouble and not a single repair while she owned it.

So the brutal sales figures and the trend of keeping cars longer mean one thing for you -- opportunity if you're in the market for wheels. Hyundai is doing a deal where if you buy a new vehicle and lose your job in the first year of ownership, you can turn the car back in -- no harm, no foul. They're trying to ease people's fears about jobs and the economy.

Automakers today can make 7 or 8 million more cars than there's demand for in a given year. So look for great deals in 2009 -- whether you're buying new or buying used. Just be sure to get your potential purchase checked out by an independent mechanic if you're buying used.