[chucchinchilla]

The article went on to discuss how the US manufacturers pretty much abandoned the lower end of the market - leaving that to used cars.

I would argue it's the customers who are abandoning the lower end of the market and manufacturers are simply responding to customer demands. Even so, the Corolla and Rav4 are still out there providing quality transportation, very good standard features, at an affordable price so it's not like there are zero options.

That said I still agree it's shocking how expensive cars have become. For us it means we'll just have to make sure our next car is a bit more future proofed since we'll be keeping it for an even longer period of time.

 

[chucchinchilla]

Inflation. It's all about inflation.

$48,763 2023 dollars are the equivalent of $29,824 2003 dollars.

Average car price in 2003 was $24,773, which is $40,503 2023 dollars. So cars have gotten a little more expensive for sure but we often talk about how you get a whole lot more in your average car today vs 20 years ago.

2021 US median household income: $70,784 (I don't believe there's enough data to pull 2022 or 2023 numbers but assuming it's similar)
2003 US median household income: $43,318

2023: Average car price is about 69% (nice) of total household income
2003: Average car price is about 57% of total household income

An excellent point. According to this TV ad the base price of a 1995 Toyota Corolla was $12,498

Using the BLS CPI Inflation Calculator that's $25,015.96 in today dollars. So what's the base price of a new Corolla?

And that's for a bigger, better built, way better equipped car than what existed in 1995.