James Mayfield

James Mayfield is the Director of Content at Santander Consumer USA and has been creating content on financial topics for more than 10 years. In addition to writing for the Santander, RoadLoans and Chrysler Capital blog sites, his work has appeared in publications such as American Way, Esquire, Success, Non-Prime Times, Paste and Celebrated Living.

James Mayfield comes from an “automotive family.” Some of his fondest memories revolve around the dealership owned by his grandfather and uncle in Oklahoma. His experiences with the auto industry have found their way into articles on car maintenance, traveling the highways of North America – including the famous Route 66, first car ownership, back to school driving tips, automotive gift guides and car loans for college students. One of his favorite articles was a look at the top summer road trip songs, which in addition to tapping into his love of music, also linked to tunes that could be streamed.

For the past six years, Mayfield has contributed a column to Non-Prime Times, the bimonthly magazine of the National Automotive Finance Association. Under the heading “Today’s Consumer,” he has covered topics ranging from publishing the right content to reach today’s consumer to social media trends to creating the best user experience.

Blog > Recent Articles By James Mayfield

What I learned when buying a car for my teenager

  Car shopping. Depending on your thoughts on the subject, it can be a thrilling, emotional, befuddling, comprehensive, satisfying, fun, (not so) fun experience. Often all of these things are felt as you move through the entire car-buying process. If you’re a teen driver looking for your first vehicle, I’d say the feelings lean more toward the thrilling and fun side of the emotional equation. Getting your initial set of wheels is an event that happens only once in your life, and more often than not, leads to a series of stories talked about for years. I recently reflected on… Read More
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Category: Car and Driver Tips

First Car. Ahhh, the Memories.

  While digging through the attic the other day, I found a photograph that brought back a flood of memories. Old photos tend to do that. It was a picture of a 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit aka my first car. If you’re like me, just looking at an image like that transports you to another time and place. Also milestone moments associated with the vehicle – prom, first dates, friends’ houses, first job, sporting events, road trips. Oh, the road trips. And details like the fact that… Read More
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Category: Entertainment

Gearing up to celebrate National Tailgating Day

The most wonderful time of the year. Ask a number of people what this phrase means to them and you’re bound to get different answers. For many it means the holiday season has arrived. To others, it can be when school is back in session (parents). And to others, it’s when school is out for the summer (students). For the college football fan, it equates to a new season being finally underway. And if you fall into this category, then this weekend surely kicks off the most wonderful time of the year. To support the celebration, this Saturday, September 3,… Read More
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Category: Entertainment

The drive-thru, an American icon

  Fact: We’re all very busy these days. Fact: There are times it’s hard to block out time to eat. Fact: For many of us, this is where the restaurant drive-thru comes into play. You know the scenario. You’re out driving around, crossing things off the honey-do list, when suddenly the rumble of the road is overtaken by the rumbling of the tummy. You’re far from home and still needing to finish some errands, so what do you do? Yep, cruise through the drive-thru. According to The NPD Group, a market research firm, roughly 12.4 billion trips were made by… Read More
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Category: Entertainment

Another awesome summer road trip playlist – 33 more tunes for the road

  We asked and you answered … thank you! Last month we released our playlist of the best summer road trip songs. Included in the article was a chance for readers to submit their favorite songs to crank up when hitting the highway on summer road trips. And there were some great ones! We compiled a new list, including ones we may have missed the first time along, and a selection of your recommendations that were sent via Twitter and Facebook, to create Another Awesome RoadLoans Summer Road Trip Playlist. You can listen to the playlist via Spotify. Interested in… Read More
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Category: Entertainment