Where, Cocks Automative, Where? World? Us? Georgia? Which Georgia?
Kia announced the end to the Soul, one of their most popular models DUE TO THE PRICE.
Ford can still barely manufacture Mavericks fast enough DUE TO THE PRICE despite raising the starting price to mid 20s.
These manufacturers are shooting themselves in the face claiming slumping sales, yet they won’t do the one thing that would sell like gangbusters, making affordable vehicles!
That’s also why they’re losing market share to Chinese in other countries
For any Americans that don’t know, China is taking over Europe as we speak and legacy companies are about to gut their companies to try to compete
Latin America too
One part “I live in an area of the country where owning a car is a necessity” and one part “I need people to think I’m successful.”
With a giant dollop of “the car is part of my identity.” It’s how Americans conceptualize themselves in society. That’s why we have emotional-support pickup trucks, “Jeep people,” every first-generation Asian citizen has a Honda Accord, minivans symbolize emasculation, et cetera. Honestly, sometimes I think that the mental image of “person” in the American mind has four wheels.
Minivans didn’t deserve such a fall off in reputation :(
Bring back the shaggin’ wagon.
I drive a white 2012 Ford Fiesta. It is a “woman’s car.” I bought it off my sister for $2500 a year ago. It is easy to maintain and gets good gas mileage. I give no fucks what people think of me driving in that car.
Many people spend all the money they would use to build real wealth on displays of wealth, cars being at the top of that list. The way to build wealth is to not spend money and instead to invest it… at least until you hit probably 8 digits where it becomes easy to live off the wealth your wealth generates without eroding your principal. However, most people are nowhere near that and would gladly take a 7 year 9% interest rate loan on a $90,000 truck so their neighbors will think they have money.
I occasionally drive past a place that is some type of “wealth boot camp”. I guess you give them money and they tell you how to make money?
Point is, every time I pass it there are multiple identical model Mercedes parked out front and all I can think is “I don’t think you’re doing this right”
In my small hometown there are truly people with trucks that cost more than their house appraises for.
Not reported in the article but related is the lengthening loan terms. Edmunds is currently reporting 69.1 months for the average loan term. That means even more people are reaching for 72 month loans instead of the typical 60 month term.
Cars are so expensive that it’s no longer possible for the average American to pay off their car in 5 years.
Part of this is economics as we’re seeing unfold everywhere. But the 6 or 7-year loan term thing has been creeping towards normalcy for a long time now.
The end-game is rent-seeking behavior: squeeze people until they’re always paying you. It’s luxury cars that are trash after 7 years for spendy types (sooner if they discontinue remote enabled features), and forever paying a loan/lease for the rest of us.
Meanwhile, the used “dumb”-car market is looking mighty tasty right now.
Car dependency is a ($50k + OpEx) tax you pay to the auto industry…
maybe if we frame it as a tax, people will hate it more
Tariffs seem popular with the right, they voted for them and seem to love they’re paying more for products so don’t count on it
That’s kinda skewed by all the super expensive vehicles right? You can still get sub-30k cars. The bad trend IMO is that the sub-25k cars are slowly disappearing. The used car market is terrible too, where the prices are pretty much close to brand new that you’re better off getting new for the warranties.
Used cars market is like that when prices of new cars are rising & folk have to buy used cars (more demand on the same or possibly lower supply of used vehicles bcs ppl don’t sell them/hang on to them for longer).
Another issue is that you can easily spec a vehicle to $80k or more, even without adding all of the options. Plus, getting a $100k vehicle isn’t very difficult either.
That’s a consequence of car dependence. Being dependent on cars means cars are an inflexible good. You must buy one to live.
A captured market means manufacturers don’t care about selling a cheap car. They’ll sell only expensive, high-margin ones. And you’ll pay because you must.
