So I was reading another thread and it got me to thinking: Why are there no cheap and basic new cars for sale (in the USA at least)?
The cheapest is over $10,000. That's considered cheap but far from it. I bet an automaker could potentially release a very basic grocery getter for around $5,000 if they wanted to. If they did, they would fly off the lots.
When I say basic, I do mean basic:
* manual everything (including transmissions)
* no fancy electronics (if possible, no electronics at all except an AM/FM radio)
* basic dash display (speedometer, odometer, tachometer, fuel gauge)
* heater/defroster but no AC (AC could be an addon)
* front disk, rear drum brakes with an addon for disk brakes all around
* small engine (1 liter or a tad over?)
* steel unibody
* basic tires (whatever tire size is most common and cheapest)
* no fancy stuff, literally. no floor mats, no chrome, nothing but basic.
* EDIT: and of course mandatory safety/emissions features
I for one don't care about fancy stuff in cars. It seems many people do and that is why I suspect cars in the USA are so dang expensive, demand. Another contributing factor is air pollution laws.