Car affordability in 2022 and beyond

Yeah, if I have to suggest a carrier choice for someone still somewhat young, I'd suggest becoming a nurse (RN) than being a medical doctor (MD) or biomedical researcher (Ph.D.). Not saying it is an easier job. But it is doable (both time, money, and skill levels) to get a qualification mid-carrier path than MD or PhD. And it may be more financially rewarding than most full 4-year college graduates. Heck, many RN makes more money than most Ph.D. It is a far more marketable job skill than say PhD in History. If the person is already out of college age, then chances are that it is too late to change the carrier to MD. But one can get certification for becoming a nurse mid-carrier. I think my sister got LPN certification when she was 40 years old. And guess what, she did not even finish a regular 4-year college degree.

 

Europe has different emission standards for diesel and petrol cars. Paris and other cities there are now facing smog problems like L.A. once had, and they limit the number of diesels into the city. Some cities also have sections cut off to cars using an engine. While the emissions from the car were more lax, they were cutting sulfur content of the fuel since the 1990's, requiring ULSD years before the US.

Japan is less strict with diesel emissions. Diesel cars are more common than in the US, but not by much. Something like 2 or 3 times more likely, but we are starting at around 1% of cars in the US. They had LEV programs going back to the 1970's with the goal of reducing emissions in cities. The Prius was one result of them, and hybrids are really popular there.

Australia and New Zealand likely benefit from smaller populations with lower densities.

Diesel cars were unpopular in the US before sulfur levels were reduced. A big reason is because our gas is cheap. Most didn't see the benefit of paying more for the diesel.

CAFE is partly to blame. There isn't a single mpg target for the truck or car fleet. It is a shifting one based upon the footprint of the vehicle. Smaller ones have a higher target. Since a small pick up has all the drawbacks of a big one, making a midsize model is easier to reach CAFE than a compact one.

Ford said people would be fine with a hatchback when the compact Ranger ended. They were right. That's what the car part stores went with for deliveries. Most I've seen weren't Fords though.

The sad thing is that the tiny diesel that was in the Cruze and Equinox was supposedly a very good engine. Can't recall if this is specifically true to it, but American diesels can handle higher levels of biodiesel than the European ones available here; B20 vs B5.

The emission issue only became one once ULSD was phased in. About the past 15 years. It doesn't explain the lack of small diesels before then. During the ULSD period, the US also had Europe buying diesel and increasing the local prices for it.

This isn't a California thing, nor is it a nursing only thing.
"Nearly 10% of American workers surveyed in 2020 were covered by a training repayment agreement, said the Cornell Survey Research Institute."
https://nypost.com/2022/10/17/more-companies-charging-employees-for-training-if-they-quit/

A complaint for the nursing and other fields training is that it covers stuff they already know, and doesn't apply to any certification. Sounds like charging to train an employee on how to use a register.

 

If you think it’s bad here, take a look at France

 

In what context? Given what we're discussing, "it" could be a bunch of things here.

 

retirement

 

mrs b had nursing loans that required her to work for at least 5 years, and that was almost 50 years ago

 

Ah, yes. They're looking at increasing the retirement age from 62 to 64 and people are furious.

 

Right. I know there's weird cross-naming between US and global-market cars, but am I right in thinking that this Cruze and Equinox are the Daewoo cars that were sold here as Holdens?



Those diesels were reasonably clean and reliable.

 

She got a degree and/or certification in exchange, correct?

The complaint here is that the company training these already certified nurses have to take doesn't cover anything that they haven't already learned, nor does it apply to any future continuation of their education. Your wife got a degree/certification that would help her get a job anywhere in the nursing field. These nurses are being charged thousands for learning the systems of the employer they just left, that won't apply elsewhere.

Note to self, don't mess with pensions in France, nor gas prices in Iran.

Deawoo Motors was bought out by GM, with Suzuki and SAIC, at the beginning of the century. It's GM Korea now, and is basically a design studio using GM platforms and drive trains. The Cruze, and my Sonic(Aveo), were designed by them. Looks like the Equinox was GM US.

That diesel engine came from Opel. Small diesels weren't doing well here because of the higher price for fuel. When that engine was available, diesel was going for around the same price as premium gas. Those looking for cheap running costs usually chose a hybrid.

 

Screw productivity.

The Trax is based on the Aveo/Sonic; a lifted version. The platform will be used for the Bolts, but not relation to the Equinox.

The Equinox and Captive were built on the Theta platform; first model on that was the Vue. The gas engines were mostly sourced from GM. The diesels and transmissions were more likely to be sourced from others. The closest to Korea were Honda and Aisin. Well, the gen2 Captiva had an engine from Daewoo Motors, but it was also a rebadged Chinese SUV from GM's partnership there. The Captiva was designed by GM Korea, but the Equinox was on the longer wheel base and designed in the US.

GM's connection to Daewoo goes way back. Before it even used Daewoo as a name. They bought a 50% stake in the company when Toyota moved out of South Korea in 1972. Even called it GM Korea for a few years. GM's portion will drop through the years, but Daewoo was mostly basing their products off GM's during that time. They got back to 50% in the early 2000's, and might be over 80% now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Korea

 

Never drove a Trax. Loved my Sonic, and its Korean design though. Going back the the OT, I think its MSRP in 2013 was only a few hundred more than what the Mirage is now. There were dealers advertising Sparks for $10k back then.

 

There's a Sonic in the family and it's been a great car! What I love most about it is the stick shift. I also like the manual roll-down windows. Of course those features were optional. I also liked getting almost 50mpg the time I was able to borrow it and hypermiled it on a 500 mile round trip.

 

The manual might actually be less reliable than the automatic, but that also be the people driving it.

 

Ah, yes. The Sonic was called a Holden Barina here.

GM Europe always did good diesels. Now that Opel/Vauxhall is no longer part of GM, I assume they've lost that for future models.

 

It's only a loss from a potential renewable fuel stand point. Between hybrids and EVs, I don't think we need them for efficiency in actual cars. The majors do have a smaller ones for trucks. Though I think Ford is cancelling the one in the F150 now that there is a hybrid.

Looking into the Daewoo/GM subject, I saw many of the diesel options they had for those models were supplied by somebody else, or a partnership with them. Plenty of good little diesels out there if demand came back to the US. One of the crimes of diesel gate was that Honda cancelled the Accord diesel for here.

 

Light resurrection of this thread, which I find an interesting topic.
A Toyota exec recently stated they expect the average price of a Toyota in 2023 to be $50k.
Toyota Exec Expects Average New-Car Prices to Exceed $50K in 2023

Apparently supply chain issues are still a factor, although the should be easing by the end of the year.
I’d be very curious to compare the average MSRP with the average transaction price (or median of both).

 

Toyota does offer cars in low $20k starting MSRP. 2023 Carolla from $21550. The average may be higher, but there are choices for conventional cars. Hybrids are a bit more. 2023 Carolla Hybrid from $22800. EVs are mostly non-affordable by my standard.