‘Seismic shift’: driving unaffordable for many in US amid push toward SUVs

If anyone would care to read the article it's more about companies making more high end cars and running low stocks than making cars bigger. They reduced stock during the pandemic and discovered that they can make more money selling fewer cars with maxed out specs than a lot of base models. They simply don't have base models on stock now and people still have to buy cars so profits are soaring. Basically they made everyone depend on cars by killing public transport and are now milking it hard. Because what are you going to do? Work from home?
- Good thing China isn't ready to flood the market with millions of cheap electric cars. This short term profit is going to end up biting them in the ass real quick. Although I guess they know they'll just get bailed out, so there's no reason to innovate.
  
  Not to worry: protectionism will take take of the competition. Just like they did with the Japanese manufacturers...
  
  Most of those Chinese cars wouldn't meet US safety regs. Getting them up to that level would put them closer to cost parity.
- Oh hey almost exactly like the housing issue... Greedy fucking companies realized they made more making McMansions than starter houses so no one makes reasonable houses anymore and we're all stuck trying to buy 4+ bedroom overpriced shit...
  There's no way this could be bad for society at large especially when driving is pretty much mandatory outside of cities. Nah, it couldn't be bad because it's good for corporations. Not that anyone cares. Externalities is just a fancy word...
  Remember: can't afford life? Move to a low cost of living area and drive 2 hours to work! ....wait...
  
  That's going to break down when Starbucks in San Francisco/etc. can't find workers because the cost to drive 20 miles to work is greater than what they're being paid. That day when low-paying big city jobs disappear because no one can afford to get there and work there is coming very fast.
  
  Remember: can’t afford life? Move to a low cost of living area and drive 2 hours to work! …wait…
  The article even mentions some research that in the suburbs people with cars tend to get better jobs.
- That's a lot of words to say "Cartel". Car...tel... get it?
  I'm here all day, folks! 👍
  Here’s a hint: the automakers are doing great. By essentially coordinating an industry-wide production cut, the pandemic gave manufacturers power to demand mind-boggling prices for fewer cars, leading to record profits. As consumers adjusted their expectations, executives saw an opportunity to establish a lucrative new normal. Low inventory is an “opportunity to drive strong margins”, GM’s CEO, Mary Barra, told shareholders in 2022. Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, went even further, declaring: “I want to make it extremely clear to everyone: we are going to run our business with a lower day supply than we have had in the recent past because that’s good for our company.”
  Also see: collusion... market manipulation... fauxflation.
  
  Yet another point in the argument for a government corporation that makes basic shit and provides basic services across the board.
- I've noticed this trend in other businesses, as well.
  They've realized it's more profitable to screw over fewer people harder than it is to try to appease more customers with better deals. The most notable example of this to me would be the fast food industry.
  It's a win-win, because they get to expend fewer resources due to fewer customers and they make more money with each transaction.
  Fuck greed and anyone who supports it.
- Oh hey almost exactly like the housing issue... Greedy fucking companies realized they made more making McMansions than starter houses so no one makes reasonable houses anymore and we're all stuck trying to buy 4+ bedroom overpriced shit...
  There's no way this could be bad for society at large especially when driving is pretty much mandatory outside of cities. Nah, it couldn't be bad because it's good for corporations. Not that anyone cares. Externalities is just a fancy word...
  Remember: can't afford life? Move to a low cost of living area and drive 2 hours to work! ....wait...
- To extend and clarify a bit, if you want a base model they don't have, you have to pay a delivery fee. At which point you might as well buy the higher trim on the lot.
  
  Even worse, you have to pay a delivery fee on the cars in stock too.

Repeal CAFE standards, or just delete the entire catagory of "light truck". If it doesn't have a bed, its not a fucking truck. This entire fucked situation is literally just automakers not wanting to be bothered to make fuel efficient cars when you can call everything a fucking truck and be mostly exempt from having to comply with the far stricter regulations around smaller passenger vehicles MPG standards.
And the automakers give zero shits since they make so much more selling these larger utterly pointless vehicles rather than smaller, more economical ones.
- tax light trucks heavily unless the owner can prove they use it for business purposes, like construction or farming
  
  Light trucks is kinda a crazy category. It's lighter vehicles that
  (1) Designed primarily for purposes of transportation of property or is a derivation of such a vehicle, or (2) Designed primarily for transportation of persons and has a capacity of more than 12 persons, or (3) Available with special features enabling off-street or off-highway operation and use
  Vans, minivans, SUVs, and crossovers are mostly categorized as light trucks. Most vehicles on the road are light trucks; they outsell cars right now 3 to 1
- Require a business license for pickup trucks. And tax by weight.
- They did change up the rules for trucks in 2011 following the PT cruiser getting classified as a truck, but they made it worse.
  Now CAFE standards are based on vehicle footprint, which encourages giant vehicles. It also killed the small truck category of vehicles, which is why a Ranger today is the size of an F-150 from before, and an F-150 is the size of a small moon.
  On the plus size, it's also why the base-model engine on the Maverick is the hybrid with the traditional engine being the "upgrade."

Maybe it's my interest in economics, but American life is so expensive in part because Americans are willing to spend a shit ton of money because they think they're supposed to. It's like we're all enamored with the idea that bigger and more is better just because someone said so. And then we complain about things being unaffordable like corporations aren't trying to fleece us for all we're worth.
- I’ve heard it said that Americans purchase based on the maximal use case as opposed to the typical use case. As an American, that description makes so much sense. As an example, I live in an area where there are a lot of hills and it snows rarely, but just about everyone who can afford a 4WD SUV has one. Heaven forbid they can’t drive around on those 1-2 days a year that it snows! Meanwhile, they get shitty gas mileage driving to work the other 300-odd days of the year.
  
  The maximal use case! That's a good way of thinking about it!
  I'm struggling with my SO to buy a reasonable house in a high cost of living area. They want a massive 2000 Sq ft monstrosity because we plan to have a kid soon, and I'm thinking 1500 is more than enough. They're reasoning it's we need space for each other and entertaining. My reasoning is I want to eat out at the nearby fantastic restaurants nearby more often and buy cheese and wine and stuff.
  
  On cars I agree wholeheartedly. It's way too expensive to maintain that capacity. We rent a minivan to travel but buy small car for daily use.
  House I am not convinced, the value proposition is different. It really is nice to have a little extra space. Not some monstrous McMansion, but not cozy, and space for the kids to have their gaming computer stuff not inside their bedroom and my home office stuff not inside my bedroom. And moving is a pain in the ass and expensive, absolutely don't want to have to scale up if the family gets bigger.
  
  My hybrid SUV (Ford escape) has awd and gets low-mid 40s mpg on my 12gallon-600 mile tank. The trick is the awd isn’t permanently on, it’s only on when it needs the traction or I change the drive mode to AWD when I’m expecting ice/snow.
  
  It's the issue of "but sometimes". People want to use a worse solution because the better solution has an issue that happens only rarely.
  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GiYO1TObNz8
  
  Also, I drove a manual compact sedan in a mountain town with hills for about 6 years. Yeah it's not as easy as throwing "off road" mode on but it's not exactly hard either.
- I’m always blown away seeing these blue collar guys driving around these $50-80k trucks that probably get 8 mpg. How do they afford this?
  
  Debt to their eyeballs
  
  Credit?
- Yes, I've been trying to get the idea across to people to spend less instead of making more.
  They just don't get it, and I think that's by design.
  These problems won't get solved until our culture changes. It won't change until enough people feel disenfranchised.
  In other words, it'll get worse before it gets better. Blame every poor person who believes the disparity in wealth should grow instead of shrink.

Stop buying SUVs and expensive cars!
- How else will I feel superiority to others just because I spend more money than them?
  
  Not sure but you can just pimp out your cheapie

Can't have the poors driving - they should be working! cf. Drive to eliminate internal combustion driven vehicles and replace with EVs as well.
- Don't worry! Well make them all return to the office so that 90% of them are forced to commute via car. That means they'll have to buy one even if they can't afford it! It's genius and there's definitely no other way this can be done because otherwise they will miss out on all that important in-office interaction bullshit!
  
  It blows my mind how many people are paying nearly my rent on their car payment. We've already normalized having 48+ month financing on cars people would never even think about buying because it's 2 years salary instead of a 2 months. But you can pay $800 every month, right?
  Better not lose the job you need the car for that you need to pay for the car payment because miss a few and all those payments go bye-bye, it's repo time! Then good luck getting a job, if you can't pay your car payment, you won't even be able to afford a clapped out 94 civic with 200k for $5k. Maybe if you just move out for a few months you can save up enough to get that car. Just a few months on friends couches or in motels, then it will be okay. Then you'll get back on your feet.

Seems like this would be a good time for foreign car companies to take advantage of the US automakers entrenched positions again like Japan did in the 1970s.
- Would that work? Most ~~people~~ Americans wouldn't want to be found dead in a car that isn't showing off hoe big their penis really really is.
  
  If they sold a new car cheaper than the standard used car and actually had stock yeah if you build them people would come ... buy them.

Well, I gotta save for a Chrysler 300 because that's the only company who isn't lobbying against right to repair.
- Chrysler is probably only doing it because they already design their vehicles to be a huge pain in the ass to repair. I remember my buddy having to remove his wheel to replace his battery in his intrepid because the only access was via the wheel well.
  I've also heard a story about Toyota where they would buy competitor vehicles to disassemble them and see what they were up to and they stopped bothering to even look at Chrysler vehicles because they didn't have anything useful to learn from their designs.
- Chrysler dealership wants $450 to diagnose an issue on my 200. Local shop directed me to them because it was an electronics issue that they would need to repair. Not sure I would trust Chrysler either.
- I just bought an old diesel Mercedes that I'm hoping will last me until the next era of car technology. I can't believe how easy it is to work on, almost as if it was designed to be maintained instead of to discourage the owner from doing so.
  Currently it's had only 200k of its reputed million miles used up, so it has a long way to go yet!
  
  I've heard the Chrysler 300 is pretty expensive to repair, but I still don't wanna see my money in the hands of companies who are actively working against us.
- Really? In the entire world or are you just one of those "buy american" saps?
  
  I'm literally in America. What do you want me to do? Pay for an import of something from China or some shit?

I like how the article mentions: The preferred solution of many planners – replace car trips with transit – faces difficult odds in this country. Yet the last paragraph discusses s proposed solution being provide money to help lower income people buy and maintain cars.

the average used car lists at more than $26,000
Craig's list is your friend. Giant pile of cars there for four digits.
- ones that run are in the high four digits, and the days of a sub $1000 running beater are over
  
  I'm hanging on to my sub $1000 beater. Late 90s Civic with 240k miles and no clear coat still has better mpg than our newish CRV.

It's a good thing we give them so much TAXPAYER money! I'd MUCH rather give THESE men my Money then STARVING CHILDREN!

When I get a car I'm gonna buy it based on minimal use case, so that I don't use it unless I have to. A fucking Trabant or something.