New Cars Increasingly Out of Reach for Many Americans

[ShawnD1]

I look at all thes Prius Hybrids and wonder if Money grows on trees???

Most people are really bad at math. Paying $20,000 for a new car in order to save $1,000 per year actually seems like a good idea to some people.

 

[Midwayman]

Most people are really bad at math. Paying $20,000 for a new car in order to save $1,000 per year actually seems like a good idea to some people.

Lol. Yah. You would think they'd do some basic math before buying something for the fuel savings. Driving something that ugly and impotent, it better be saving a whole lot of money.

 

[ElFenix]

Most people are really bad at math. Paying $20,000 for a new car in order to save $1,000 per year actually seems like a good idea to some people.

your mistake is assuming it's the gas mileage which is driving the new car purchase. it's not. most people who buy new hybrids were going to buy a new car anyway.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Lol. Yah. You would think they'd do some basic math before buying something for the fuel savings. Driving something that ugly and impotent, it better be saving a whole lot of money.

Like hicks should do some basic math about torque, coefficient of drag, and center of gravity before putting those 49 inch all-terrain tires on his 18" lifted pickup? Ooh look, now your bed is practically unusable, and thanks to your four new massive speed brakes your truck now has a lower top speed than a 1981 Ford Escort, you get a nice 6MPG everywhere, and you'll roll over if you take any corner going more than 20. And you spent more on it than a CTS-V.

 

[Wreckem]

Lol. Yah. You would think they'd do some basic math before buying something for the fuel savings. Driving something that ugly and impotent, it better be saving a whole lot of money.

Hybrids make sense for people who live in certain areas(urban centers) of the country with certain types of commutes(long commute times/short distances/all stop and go).

 

[Fern]

-snip-
If you think everyone uses there truck for "work", try living in any southern state for 15 years and you will quickly learn how untrue that statement is.

I live in a Southern state and most DO use their truck for work, at least where I live.

Without needing one ofr work there are still plenty of good reasons for a p/u truck:

1. Your sport or hobby. It's pretty fricken difficult to to load an ATV into the trunk of a Camry.

2. I live in the mountains, 4 wheel drive is often a necessity give the snow and ice. Also, a lot of people off steep gravel roads that are not well maintained. You need the ground clearance (and 4WD)

3. Picking up firewood. Taking trash to the dump (no service provided in most rural counties).

4. I live in an old house out in the country. In the past couple of years I've had to purchase and carry home things such as a water heater, dryer, washer, new fridge, new stove/range. So, over the past few years I've been renovating and my P/U is essential. I came to that decision about 5 years when I couldn't even get my new TV in the trunk of my Camry.

I could go on.

Anyhoo, a lot of people do use them for work. It just may not always be apparent. E.g., my nephew is a welder and needs his truck for work. But you my not see the wielding gear laying in the truck bed unless you walk over and look over the sides etc.

But rednecks and their trucks are pretty funny. I don't care about the whole "BMW" thing. What I find funny is a big expensive new shinny truck parked next to a sh!tty trailer. The truck costs more than their home.

Fern

 

[OverVolt]

Most of the Hemi 5.7L V8 twin-turbo's that I see are spotless

 

[ShawnD1]

Like hicks should do some basic math about torque, coefficient of drag, and center of gravity before putting those 49 inch all-terrain tires on his 18" lifted pickup? Ooh look, now your bed is practically unusable, and thanks to your four new massive speed brakes your truck now has a lower top speed than a 1981 Ford Escort, you get a nice 6MPG everywhere, and you'll roll over if you take any corner going more than 20. And you spent more on it than a CTS-V.

It would be nice if they taught more about rotational physics in high school. Putting big heavy tires on the thing adds a lot of rotational weight. The tires themselves might be 500 pounds, but they add as much inertia as having 1000 pounds of crap in the back.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Most people are really bad at math. Paying $20,000 for a new car in order to save $1,000 per year actually seems like a good idea to some people.

Car is supposed to last 21 years

 

[ShawnD1]

Car is supposed to last 21 years

Yeah but it won't be a status of how gay I am for the next 21 years. I'll need to buy a new car as soon as something gayer comes along

 

[Hugo Drax]

2-28-2013

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cars-increasingly-reach-many-americans-145957880.html

New Cars Increasingly Out of Reach for Many Americans



The typical new vehicle is now more expensive than ever, averaging $30,500 in 2012, according to TrueCar.com data, and heading up again as makers curb the incentives that helped make their products more affordable during the recession when they were desperate for sales.

What? You can get a 2013 Corolla for 17K A fine inexpensive car. Not sure where they are getting this "Cars out of reach 30K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! bunk"

 

[PricklyPete]

I live in a Southern state and most DO use their truck for work, at least where I live.

Without needing one ofr work there are still plenty of good reasons for a p/u truck:

1. Your sport or hobby. It's pretty fricken difficult to to load an ATV into the trunk of a Camry.

2. I live in the mountains, 4 wheel drive is often a necessity give the snow and ice. Also, a lot of people off steep gravel roads that are not well maintained. You need the ground clearance (and 4WD)

3. Picking up firewood. Taking trash to the dump (no service provided in most rural counties).

4. I live in an old house out in the country. In the past couple of years I've had to purchase and carry home things such as a water heater, dryer, washer, new fridge, new stove/range. So, over the past few years I've been renovating and my P/U is essential. I came to that decision about 5 years when I couldn't even get my new TV in the trunk of my Camry.

I could go on.

Anyhoo, a lot of people do use them for work. It just may not always be apparent. E.g., my nephew is a welder and needs his truck for work. But you my not see the wielding gear laying in the truck bed unless you walk over and look over the sides etc.

But rednecks and their trucks are pretty funny. I don't care about the whole "BMW" thing. What I find funny is a big expensive new shinny truck parked next to a sh!tty trailer. The truck costs more than their home.

Fern

Well I lived in Upstate SC for most of my life and still own a home there. I can tell you that the majority of the people I know there have trucks and very few of them use them for work. They commute in them just like everyone else.

Either way, I am not saying they are not nice to have and I certainly don't mind if someone chooses to buy one (nor do I care if someone buys a Corvette, Cadillac, Range Rover, or Prius). I even owned a 4x4 Tacoma for 5+ years while living in the area for the reasons you mentioned above. So again, I have no problem with people owning them. What I do think is ridiculous is how the same person who spends $40K on a truck goes around telling someone they are financially irresponsible for spending that 40K on another "pretentious" car. I found this to be a VERY common occurrence and it is pretty ridiculous.

 

[Bateluer]

Meh. I just bought a 2013 Honda Fit two weeks ago, after driving my 2000 Corolla since 2003.

 

[3chordcharlie]

I live in a Southern state and most DO use their truck for work, at least where I live.

Without needing one ofr work there are still plenty of good reasons for a p/u truck:

1. Your sport or hobby. It's pretty fricken difficult to to load an ATV into the trunk of a Camry.

2. I live in the mountains, 4 wheel drive is often a necessity give the snow and ice. Also, a lot of people off steep gravel roads that are not well maintained. You need the ground clearance (and 4WD)

3. Picking up firewood. Taking trash to the dump (no service provided in most rural counties).

4. I live in an old house out in the country. In the past couple of years I've had to purchase and carry home things such as a water heater, dryer, washer, new fridge, new stove/range. So, over the past few years I've been renovating and my P/U is essential. I came to that decision about 5 years when I couldn't even get my new TV in the trunk of my Camry.

I could go on.

Anyhoo, a lot of people do use them for work. It just may not always be apparent. E.g., my nephew is a welder and needs his truck for work. But you my not see the wielding gear laying in the truck bed unless you walk over and look over the sides etc.

But rednecks and their trucks are pretty funny. I don't care about the whole "BMW" thing. What I find funny is a big expensive new shinny truck parked next to a sh!tty trailer. The truck costs more than their home.

Fern

The set of circumstances that give the obvious solution "Spend $30-50K on a 4-door truck with a 5-1/2 ft bed, as your primary vehicle" are really, really limited.

People drive 'commuter-trucks' because that's what they want to drive. Individually there is no problem with this at all. In aggregate it's silly, wasteful, and helps drive up fuel prices.

 

[OverVolt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K9RcS-sj8Q

Proof of 5.7L twin turbo hemi.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Financing a new car is one of the stupidest financial decisions you will ever make.

I like my 1.9% financing. Allows me to keep my money in the stock market instead of cashing it out to buy my vehicle.

 

[OverVolt]

I like my 1.9% financing. Allows me to keep my money in the stock market instead of cashing it out to buy my vehicle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snbW6hI8xuY

Its a PBS documentary. FOR SOME REASON I read that and it just popped into my head.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

This is good, less carbon emissions and traffic.

yeah, they'll just buy cheaper used cars that are less efficient and pollute more. yeah.

 

[Screech]

^ sure, older used cars generally are worse, but even so, you can find good deals on relatively recent (last 5 years) cars that get decent mileage and what not. I've never really understood the fascination with a new car, but then I don't have shittons of money, so....

 

[Cerb]

There are plenty of excellent new cars available for $20k or less these days, it's not manufacturers problem that everyone thinks that their minimum wage job entitles them to a new luxury suv.

If the typical purchase is $30k, where's the problem, and where's the entitlement? Obviously, they have the money, and some lender believes they can pay it off. If not, they won't sell, the car makers will have to take losses, and fix their line-up over the coming years. If they're lending poorly, that, too, will come back and bite them.

It's the same kind of problem other industries have been having, with people not making as many broken window purchases, and since those are what have propped up our economic numbers, that's seen as a bad thing. Used cars are fetching better prices than they used to, and don't sit on CL long.

The article is trying to twist it like cars are just too expensive, and the industry is hurting for it. While they are relatively more expensive, they are that due to stagnant wages and rising costs of living, not increased prices in the cars themselves, which have generally stayed pretty stable, in absolute dollars, since the early 90s. Also, the car companies haven't been doing that bad, lately, given the overall economic situation.

 

[Doppel]

Most people are really bad at math. Paying $20,000 for a new car in order to save $1,000 per year actually seems like a good idea to some people.

It is a great idea if you are comparing it to another car of the same cost without the 1000 savings.

 

[ShawnD1]

It is a great idea if you are comparing it to another car of the same cost without the 1000 savings.

I've done that several times in the car forum. Buying a Prius is almost never a good idea. The size is closer to a Corolla than it is to a Camry, and the performance is worse than a Corolla, but it's about $10,000 more expensive than a Corolla. The Prius is only a good idea if you drive an ungodly amount every year.

 

[Doppel]

I've done that several times in the car forum. Buying a Prius is almost never a good idea. The size is closer to a Corolla than it is to a Camry, and the performance is worse than a Corolla, but it's about $10,000 more expensive than a Corolla. The Prius is only a good idea if you drive an ungodly amount every year.

It is appreciably larger with a far more functional trunk. It also costs NOWHERE near 10,000 more than a similarly equipped corolla. Performance doesn't matter--both are slow as hell.

 

[ShawnD1]

It is appreciably larger with a far more functional trunk. It also costs NOWHERE near 10,000 more than a similarly equipped corolla. Performance doesn't matter--both are slow as hell.

I'll agree with you on the trunk issue. I changed from a Corolla (sedan) to an Impreza (hatch) and the difference is like night and day. Sedans are garbage.

2013 Matrix L automatic vs 2013 Prius Two
-both seat 5 people
-both are hatchbacks
-Matrix has speed proportional power streering, Prius does not
-Matrix has a tachometer, Prius does not
-Matrix has voice-activated controls, Prius does not
-Prius has allow wheels, Matrix has steel wheels
-tires are the same overall diameter, but the Matrix has 16" rims while the Prius has 15"
-Prius combined fuel economy is 50mpg, Matrix is 28
-Prius has 21.6 cu.ft cargo, Matrix has 19.8
-Matrix is slightly higher and wider while the Prius is slightly longer
-Matrix has 5.0% more front head room
-Matrix has 4.5% more rear head room
-Prius has 0.8% more front hip room
-Prius has 17% more rear hip room
-Matrix has 0.5% more interior volume
-Prius is 5% heavier
-Matrix has 850lb payload, Prius has 825lb

Matrix costs $20,910, Prius costs $24,995 (difference of $4,085 plus tax)
page

Performance doesn't matter--both are slow as hell.

Performance matters more in shittier cars. Trying to get up to highway speed in a Corolla with an automatic is terrifying. Cutting that 0-60 down by 1 second would make a huge difference in terms of safety and overall drivability.

 

[Midwayman]

Hybrids make sense for people who live in certain areas(urban centers) of the country with certain types of commutes(long commute times/short distances/all stop and go).

Sure in some very specific circumstances they make sense. For example I see a lot of them as taxis around here. However even then the payback period is pretty long. The point really is that Hybrids don't make financial sense for the vast majority of buyers and nobody seems to be doing the math.