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Old 06-28-2021, 10:59 PM   #35 (permalink)
JSH
AKA - Jason
 
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: PDX
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Adventure Seeker - '04 Chevy Astro - Campervan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Autobahnschleicher View Post
Why is the yearly increase lower for trucks?
Also "zoomer" came up a s a contrast to "boomer".
And these prices are out of range for my generation, there is no way a significant quantity of us could afford that kind of price.
Trucks have a lower increase because that is how the law was written. No logical reason for it - just the effect of lobbying by auto companies that make lots of money on trucks. That difference a key reason why automakers are dropping cars today in favor of crossovers that can be classified as a light truck.

The oldest Gen Z would be 25. They are just starting out in life so of course new cars are out of reach. New cars are a luxury item for when the finances are in order.

That said, all but one of the engineers I've mentored bought a new car with their 1st paycheck out of college. Lots of $40K to $50K cars and trucks. The 25 year old engineer that sits next to me is driving a 2021 Mercedes C300 AWD.

I can't say I blame them even though I always advise against it. I bought a new truck for my wife straight out of school - one of the biggest financial mistakes I made. I actually didn't even have to wait for my first paycheck. The dealership wrote me a loan based on my signing letter 3 months before I graduated and deferred payments for 4 months. Luckily I came to my senses at the age of 25 and started making better decisions. I dug a deep hole in those 3 years though. We had debt 3x our income at age 25 between the student loans, car loans, and house.

Quote:
Originally Posted by California98Civic View Post
Check out the new and recent Chevy Spark and Mitsubishi Mirage. The Spark has a 5 speed manual and begins at $15k. It's 5th gear, final drive, and 15" wheels probably mean it revs fairly low for modern manuals at highway speeds, maybe 2300 or 2400 at 60 mph. Great simple driving appliance.
He lives in Germany. There is no shortage of efficient hatchbacks in Europe.
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