Pop Goes The Car Bubble . . . And It May Not Be a Bad Thing

Eric Peters Autos ^ | 09 June 2017 | Eric

[Smittie]

I can remember when you could get a fairly nice house for $40k to $60k.

My first house cost $54k 20 years ago. I wish I could've stayed there...

I paid $18k for a new truck 14 years ago that would costs around $50k today. That's ridiculous, I don't see how families living in $300,000 houses with kids drive around with 2 new cars these days...

[EVO X]

And those bright nighttime lights of some cars are blinding! Who thought that was a good idea?

Look into getting anti glare glasses for driving at night. It makes a heck of lot of difference. You are the problem, not the auto head lights.

[EVO X]

And those bright nighttime lights of some cars are blinding! Who thought that was a good idea?

Look into getting anti glare glasses for driving at night. It makes a heck of lot of difference. You are the problem, not the auto head lights.

[jurroppi1]

Where, what year, what trim, and how many miles / what condition?

[dragnet2]

Personally, that wouldn’t be me as I would never buy new, nor would I ever volunteer to be robbed at gun point.

[TexasGator]

New XL

http://veteransfordtampa.com/ford-f-150-xl-2017-tampa-fl-hfb05955

[dragnet2]

I’ve heard that many millenials are not really very interested in the idea of owning your own home or a new vehicle.

There is a damn good reason for that.

It's because for most of the young folk it's not doable, it's out of reach, far too expensive etc...It would be like you wanting a LearJet....It's not going to happen, so you're not going to be very interested.

Buying homes, getting married, having babies, buying mortgages takes secure, long time good jobs, good incomes, medical insurance and all the rest....

None of that is happening for most young Americans.

[gibsonguy]

“The reason that the car market will crater is that many millennials don’t care to own cars.”

That’s definitely a factor but the full impact hasn’t hit yet. The snowflakes are convinced the car is “destroying Mother Earth”.

[TexasGator]

“I paid $18k for a new truck 14 years ago that would costs around $50k today.”

You can get a fully loaded F-150 Lariat for %50k. Fourteen years ago that MSRP was greater than $30k.

[BobL]

Exactly, someone is paying for the development of that car, and it’s not the buyers, simply not enough of them.

[BobL]

Yep, that would make sense. Since we’re talking about the planet, not some localized situation.

[Keyhopper]

I have a 2000 Silverado 200k miles on it. Very happy with it. Well maintained. Changed the oil religiously and any problems that arose. Run like a clock

[AlaskaErik]

I bought a brand new pickup last year. Factory sticker was $52,430. I paid $36,622 for it. That’s for a brand new truck with 12 miles on the odo and no trade in. $36,622 is all the dealer got from me. And there’s no trade in for him to make it up.

[Pappy Smear]

Car looks aren’t changing from year to year so there’s feeling of “behind” the curve when nobody can tell by eyeball that your car is 5 years old.

You are correct about car looks. I have the first year of the redesigned Nissan Frontier pickup. 2005. It looks exactly the same as a 2017.

As an aside, on this particular pickup, Nissan Frontier sales are on the uptick. It's proven to be a reliable truck, and Nissan has not gone cuckoo with technology stuff with this truck. That way the price stays down, and it is a good choice for people who want a reliable, plain ol' pickup.

[Drew68]

Simple. The car companies are required to fold-in the cost of developing and then selling their ‘green models’, else they get hit with huge fines.

These are precisely the types of regulations Trump and the GOP need to kill.

[BobL]

Absolutely...at least when he’s informed of such. I suspect that there are a lot of leftist execs who really don’t mind this crap...as long as it’s applied across the board. So those people have to be dealt with first.

[Windflier]

I have a 2000 Silverado 200k miles on it. Very happy with it. Well maintained.

My '98 has served me well for nearly twenty years. Naturally, I've had to fix a few things over the years, but all the major components are in good shape, and she's still reliable.

I figure I'll get another 50,000 miles out of the motor before she needs a new one. That'll take a while, as I don't drive it much these days.

[IYAS9YAS]

F-150 posted price $21,557.

Base model F-150 starts at $27,110. http://shop.ford.com/showroom/?linktype=brand/?intcmp=hp-showbb

[Hojczyk]

You need to add in the 50% most people pay in taxes and never see the total

Sales Tax...State Tax...Federal tax..Phone tax..Cable tax..gas tax ..on and on..property tax which gives the government the right to steal your house if you can not pay...you payed for fifty years but that does not count

[freepertoo]

I have a prius that I easily put 50,000 miles a year on...you don’t want to know how far I live from work. Just paid it off, sunk just 950 dollars into repairs, large and small, and it still runs like a new car.