7 year car loans?

I read in the newspaper yesterday, that people are increasingly rolling over their debt on their cars when they purchase a new car.  They put no money down on the new car and thus owe more on their new car than it was ever worth, even new.  To accommodate them, lenders are increasing loans to 7 or 8 YEARS!

I find this alarming.  The couple profiled in the photo had traded in their 2001 suburban for something like a Ford Excursion.  Never mind the horrendous gas mileage of both cars or the fact that the overwhelming majority of SUV drivers never take them off the road.  If you have to take a seven year loan to buy a car (at which point your interest is double the original purchase price of the car) maybe you should buy a cheaper car that you can afford!

Sure, I could've purchased a BMW wagon or an Audi wagon for $10,000-$15,000 more than my Passat, and could've financed it for 6 or more years, but instead I chose to buy a car that (a) would leave me with reasonable monthly payments over 5 years and (b) I could put a decent down payment on.  Five years later, I have a car that's still worth more than even my downpayment of $5000, mostly because I have only 50,000 miles on it.  Why are people driving cars that they can't afford?  Why are they rolling over loans that should be paid off?  Why are lending institutions rolling over loans in the first place?  Whatever happened to the down payment?

I feel like such a dinosaur.  I bought a car I could afford, threw in a $5000 down payment and financed for five years.  I must admit, I felt bad about financing for 5 years.  I should've financed for four years.  Oh well.  This article made me feel responsible.  Unlike, apparently, many American consumers.