Car affordability in 2022 and beyond

The blame is for the ones that aren't acting like we are all in this together. The ones denying things have changed. That things should work like they did in past. Ok, Boomer isn't directed at an entire generation. It is directed to those refusing to acknowledge times have changed, and are making it difficult for the rest of us. Those don't even have to be an actual Boomer.

 

Yeah, I see the term "Boomer" being used by various articles to represent not an age group but rather a more vague group of the population. Rich vs poor (and middle class included?) Those who have vs don't have? Elitest vs bottom duellers? However they are portrayed, I find it meaningless to point a finger at any particular group of people.

 

A product of the 60’s, I know only too well about blaming past generations.
Twas ever thus?

 

Cars cost too much to make in order to have loss leader trims, and the price savings of a stripper model aren't worth the loss of basic features. Trims and packages lowered costs through manufacturing efficiency. Sucks when the feature you want doesn't align with the trim desired, but the old a la cart method would mean higher prices on everything.

Diesels are seen as crap in the US because the cars in the 1980's mostly were. A reliable diesel is going to cost more, because it has to withstand harder forces than a gasoline engine. When our diesel dirty, the fuel costs could cover the higher purchase price. The clean diesel costs more, not because it is clean, but because the rest of the world using diesels can now buy it.

It is also meaningless to say they are all the same. When said about politicians and lying, it is done to dodge having a discussion on looking for solutions.

 

Exactly. It is meaningless to discuss especially on a forum like PriusChat. We are just chatting. It is all for personal entertainment. Nothing said here is going to provide a solution.

 

Sounds more and more like the glass 1/2 full theory the one gentleman expressed.

No matter what is said or facts presented one group of people feel they got screwed because their glass is 1/2 full.

The other group- is happy and pleased they have a glass 1/2 full and only have to add another 1/2 to have an overflowing glass.

Wonder which will have the happiest and most fulfilling life?

We are probably actually discussing perceptions rather than facts. Sometimes people become so invested in aligning their life with their perceptions of things that it isn't a realistic expectation that they are going to change/alter either or even make the effort to see the another's point of view.

 

Outside of that somehow you can't get a diesel car to pass emissions in the united states which is what annoys me so we have to make them extra heavy here to get outside of the emissions requirements for small vehicles. Japan, the europeans, New Zealand, and Australia all seem to be able to allow diesels and not die of extra emissions. They are also more strict than we are when it comes to food and argriculture and which chemicals are allowed in our food so that is why it seems funny. Some of those areas can be more population dense than we are and can still figure out how to allow diesels the appropriate emissions controls to continue their use. I'm just saying its possible but the USA has basically banned diesels all by itself.

 

I would say equal crap to the 1980s in general. Everything fell apart faster than you could put it back together. Just about every single vehicle was hot garbage outside of the odd japanese car running around at the time. People thought the japanese were idiots for putting 6 digit odometers in when everyone else had 5 digit odometers.
Outside of the diesel thing though, manufacturers have said that people didn't want small affordable trucks for the last 15 years and we saw the get bigger and bigger etc...
But when the Ford Maverick came out it sure was popular. So I still thing building affordable cars can be profitable. They just don't want to. Maybe that will change though, the Maverick is a good first step. Hopefully others follow.

 

Yeah, for those who have financial resources to contribute to the "next" generation, please pitch in. For many, including myself, filling my own glass is a higher priority. I am more worried about over 40 million Boomers who are either already in retirement age or will soon be retiring to not have adequate financial resources for their golden years.

As this recent survey from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies estimates, the median retirement savings of boomers is only $202,000. Assuming an average life expectancy of ~25 years after retirement, it is just $8,080 a year, or $673 a month income without any growth. With a modest 4% investment return, the fund will still run out in 28 years if $1000/mo is taken out. Supplementing that with SSI may let some healthy senior citizens on frugal lifestyles get by, but certainly not enough to purchase a new car.

source: https://www.saving.org/money-run-out/202000

 

Ya. People like me are going to have to work until we're like 87-years-old. For me at my age to keep making what I do now on retirement, I'd have to save over half of what I make.

Of course a lot of Boomers may have other assets such as owning a home (reverse mortgage, selling then renting, etc.)

 

Hang in there. For consolation, you are not alone. The "lifetime pension" system collapsed many years ago. For many, except a small portion of top earners, retirement means lifetime work. I could not start saving for my own retirement until all of our kids are out of college, which put me almost 20 years behind schedule. With my wife not being able to work and having a permanently disabled child to take care of, I don't see any early retirement coming for me even though I am now saving almost 40% of my income into the retirement fund.

 

@Leadfoot J. McCoalroller and @Paladain55 -

Are you looking for no-frills trucks, or for sensibly-sized ones?

I've already mentioned the GWM Cannon and LDV T60 as fewer-frilled.

But if size is the issue (and for me it would be - I cannot understand why trucks have to be as big and high as the Ranger: it makes it a pain to lift stuff up into the tray, and a pain to get to places down narrow streets - Geely's Radar RD6 might be the way to go. They're electric, and they're the first sensibly-sized trucks I've seen in a long time.

 

I suspect that this has little to do with emissions. European and Japanese companies (even if we ignore the cheat software) are good at making small, low-emission, clean diesels; US companies, in general, are not. Restricting the sale of small diesels is a good way to impose a de facto import restriction without explicitly restricting imports. Making it harder for foreign companies to comply with US regulations that are supposedly about health or safety is something that the US car sector has done for years: look at the sealed-unit headlight requirement, or the minimum height for bumpers, or all sorts of other things. (Meanwhile, of course, the US Trade Representative in the 1980s claimed that Japan's policy of driving on the left was a restrictive trade practice that harmed US exporters, and it threatened retaliatory sanctions against Japan.)

 

The thing is, so maybe I don't have much saved for anything except a few months of unemployment. Maybe I don't own a house and probably never will. Maybe I've never owned a new car and probably never will. Maybe I've never gone on vacation that involves paying for a flight and a hotel.

But hey! Life isn't so bad. I got a place to live, a lot of food, a lovely family, a car that does the job quite comfortably, and a job that feels well balanced, 40 hours a week, Monday through Friday, with plenty of time-off, even if it isn't paid time-off.

 

One of my friends tried retiring early. He lasted two years before he got so bored he started working again.

I can't say that I have any intention of retiring. But I'm lucky: I enjoy what I do, and it isn't too physically taxing, and I can cut down my hours if I want to.

 

I've been involved with a local shelter/food bank doing some volunteer work. There are many my age or even older homeless people. Yeah, I'm very grateful that I have a roof over our heads and food on the table to enjoy with my family.

 

The average salary for a Registered Nurse is $124,000 a year in California, that is where the story situation is.

Average RN Salary In California | NurseJournal.org

The debt for the training she received after signing the contact that she would remain with the hospital for a set period after the training was $2000 - less than a weeks salary - Nurses receive substantial rate increase for overtime worked so really it is quite less than a week's salary with overtime.( average hourly rate is $59.62 - overtime rate would be about 1.5 that depending on the contract they signed). In some instances depending on the contract you signed housing will be provided or you will receive a subsidy for it.

We have a niece that is a Registered Nurse, it has been a wonderful opportunity for her - she signed a 2 year contract to work in Sacramento California - returned home and in a year signed another contract to work in a hospital in Phoenix Az, she is back home and at the last family gathering said she is looking to sign a contract to go work in a hospital in Anchorage Alaska.

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