Final answer:
Laura buying a new car from the Ford dealership is an example of consumer spending in GDP calculations, which is a significant part of GDP as it makes up about two-thirds of it annually.
Step-by-step explanation:
When calculating the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an example of consumer spending is when Laura buys a new car from the Ford dealership. Consumer spending, or consumption expenditure by households, is a critical part of the GDP, accounting for about two-thirds of the GDP in any year. When consumers like Laura make purchases, it reflects personal consumption expenditures which directly contribute to the GDP. This differs from government spending, which refers to purchases of goods and services by government at all levels, and business investment on capital goods, neither of which falls under consumer spending.