Trump, lowering new car/truck prices..

[ironglowz]

  This from MSN; tried to find a better source, but this is about it !

   https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/car-prices-could-fall-under-trump-after-the-latest-move/ar-AA1RT6Zk

[moamonkey]

I’d like to be hopeful that the industry would pass the savings on manufacturing down to consumers, but….as long as people have been willing to pay what they’ve been asking the makers are going to need some strong incentive for sure. If just one manufacturer would be willing to drop prices, the competition may force the others to follow suit. I may want one more vehicle and if enough people would buy new ones, that’d open the door for plenty of good used ones.

[DDZ]

Like anything a car is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I remember when I first started driving there were a lot of old beat up looking cars on the road. We called them ghetto cruisers. Bumpers fenders, and quarter panels rotted out. Just a lot of beat up looking cars on the road. Now its rare to see a car on the road anything close to that. Granted cars don't rot out like they used to, and engines are built to last longer.  Something else is the number of 60,000 dollar plus pickups on the road. Seems the majority of people that own a truck anymore just use it for a daily commuter. I see guys with big diesel pickups that look like they haven't hauled anything except groceries. 

[GTS225]

Now its rare to see a car on the road anything close to that.

You need to visit my area.     There's more than enough of what you described.

Granted cars don't rot out like they used to,

Ummmm.....yeah, they do.  I visited an outfit that was selling "take-off" southern pickup boxes, and noticed that the mfgr's don't even paint the front outside wall, or the underside anymore.  Just leave it in primer, which is porous, and it rusts out in short order.

and engines are built to last longer.

I disagree.  It's not so much that engines are built any different.  It's that we have soooo much better ignition systems, fuel management, and light-years improved lubricants that engines don't wear the way they used to, oils don't get contaminated by unburned fuels, and they stay in tune much better.

Seems the majority of people that own a truck anymore just use it for a daily commuter. I see guys with big diesel pickups that look like they haven't hauled anything except groceries.

Here we're in agreement, and it's likely that they haven't hauled anything to any great extreme.  I suspect it's due to economic reasons.  Don't use it as a working vehicle, and the trade-in value stays up.  I suspect a fair number of them also trade in every 2-3 years for those same economic reasons.

Just my opine.....Roger

[ironglowz]

Like anything a car is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I remember when I first started driving there were a lot of old beat up looking cars on the road. We called them ghetto cruisers. Bumpers fenders, and quarter panels rotted out. Just a lot of beat up looking cars on the road. Now its rare to see a car on the road anything close to that. Granted cars don't rot out like they used to, and engines are built to last longer.  Something else is the number of 60,000 dollar plus pickups on the road. Seems the majority of people that own a truck anymore just use it for a daily commuter. I see guys with big diesel pickups that look like they haven't hauled anything except groceries.

  I have long bemoaned the excessive technology that is being built in vehicles today.  No, not all of it is negative, since surely gars are more efficient with fuel usage, and start much better in the winter, and I am a firm supporter of seat belts and air bags.

  ...But do we really need all that little TV on the instrument panel provides?  Do we truly need cars that park themselves, or cars that drive themselves ?   

    Just look at the formerly bare bones "rugged outdoor" 4 WD vehicles.. carpets, power windows, and all the sissy creature comforts plus a plethora of what I call "show off" extras.

  Some years ago I suggested that the old M38 or M38A1 jeeps I used in the Army would be great..with safety items and a modern engine.
 
    I had a couple Samurais (91 and 94) and a 98 Jeep wrangler along with Ford Rangers...and i thought them about Ideal, so far as extras were concerned. It seems the vehicles of the 1990s had a proper balance.

   So why don't we see many cars from say, 2010 on up, running around as beaters?  Well, cost of repairs is likely the reason.

  Say you have a car that is worth 3-4 thousand, and the 9" visual display go to a crisp . Is it worth the price of the display, including labor...or does it go the way of the Dodo?

   Consider then the cost of a turbo alone on a beater...would you keep it?  How about a new CVT tranny?  I think we all have an idea concerning the vexation caused by the "check engine" or other warning light ! I know personally, of about 6 or 8 cars that are presently running around with one or more warning lights glowing.

  Now, I know some are gifted enough, that they can do all their repairs, saving at least the labor, but that is only true with a small percentage, and they also need a good computer diagnostic device to boot !

  It seems there was a late model Land Rover that had some owners of late models, who were junking their cars ..because of the cost of keeping them running and the frustration of being so often without transportation .

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfmdfv_AB1Q                                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX7h16X6Nvc

  Perhaps by the president doing away with some of the silly, goofy, "green" additions, we may get back closer to the vehicles of the 1990s..and more dependable transport.

   ..Buy the simplest, least complex, vehicle you can use...