market retardation

i don't understand how we can have 2009 model cars when it's still 2008. Yes, we are towards the end of the year, but it's not 2009. It's still 2008- so no matter what the car people say, their cars were produced in 2008, so they are 2008 model cars. I understand that it's all just marketing, but these salespeople are underestimating the average intelligence of their people. Then again, maybe they're not and some people don't care that their car must have come to the future for their statement to be true. Maybe future cars would be OK- if they at least looked futuristic.