A SPECIAL REPORT: CARS

CASHING IN: Only about 9% of all new car buyers in the country pay cash. But in Orange County, local auto dealers estimate the number paying cash is more like 20%. Where does all the dough come from? Home equity and refinancing loans are big sources, along with annual cash bonuses and car allowances. . . . And some people do it the old-fashioned way. “They save up the money,” says Fullerton Cadillac dealer Leonard Renick.