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People like to bet on things. That seems to be a part of our nature. But if we can do the betting and not really lose money, then all the better. Taking advantage of this weak spot in our psyche, there have been the development of many “games.” For example, there is fantasy football and baseball. In this game you select star pro baseball players or football players to “play” on your fantasy team. You garner points depending on the results achieved by the real players in games in which they play. There are also fantasy stock markets. You pretend to buy a stock and then chart whether it goes up and down and you make your “money” when you “sell” the stock.
There are also fantasy like stock exchanges for movies and movie stars, political campaigns and, yes, even cars.
If works this way. You “bet” on the performance in the market of movies or movie stars, political campaigns and the sales of cars. If you want to “bet” or “invest” in a car, you can do it at the Car Stock Exchange (CSX) through its website.
People who are interested can register and receive $1 million fictional CSX dollars to buy stock in cars and trucks that they expect will sell well in coming months. A real time ticker across the top of the web page shows the current value of the car. You can construct a portfolio of vehicles that you think will sell well. Then watch the sales figures and the value of the vehicle rise or fall.
It sounds like a great game, right? But it is actually more. Execs in the car industry can look at this “stock exchange” and see how the market rates a particular model car. If a lot of people are “investing” in a particular model, then the execs can determine that particular model will be popular and will therefore sell well in the real market place.
So gather your fantasy money and make your fantasy decisions on the next Chrysler 300, or Porsche Cayenne, or Cadillac CTS, etc. You think you are playing a game but you are providing valuable information to the auto industry pundits and execs.
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