superdart
Shade Tree Tinker Gnome.....
There are a lot of people you can blame, and it isn't any one group/source.
Can you blame the Unions? Maybe....People building the Tahoes here in Arlington are making more than the people buying them. But on the flip side fo that, the Tahoe has one of Chevy's biggest profit margins..so it's a wash.
Government? Surely....They always overtax, spend money on the wrong things. We should be fixing our bridges, not giving money to foreign countries.
Gas prices? Oh yeah..but who's fault is this? We can blame the gov't, but we always complain when they DO regulate stuff..so now we are being choosy? We, the American public, are the ones who are fascinated with driving larger trucks anc SUVs that we don't need. 20 years ago, mommy drove a 4 door car or wagon, not an Expedition that gets horrible mileage. Our perception of what we "need" has changed a lot. .Supply and demand, baby.....
Market saturation: The prices on vehicles have gone up radically over the last two decades, much more than the median income. Hence the need for 48, 60, 72, 84 month loans...people otherwise couldn't afford them at all. But if you take a car on a 72/mo loan. You almost HAVE to keep it, since it will depreciate faster than you can pay it off, so you have to keep it a lot longer to get right side up. This all leads back to the fact that people are not buying new cars every two years like they use to.
My friend I talked to yesterday. He is only getting 20-30 hours at the dealer he works at. I am trying to whittle him down to work where I'm at. Our diesel mechanics start at $20/hr, 40hrs guaranteed. His thing is the dealer is the first real job he got out of high school, and the thought of leaving his security blanket is a bit scary for him.
Can you blame the Unions? Maybe....People building the Tahoes here in Arlington are making more than the people buying them. But on the flip side fo that, the Tahoe has one of Chevy's biggest profit margins..so it's a wash.
Government? Surely....They always overtax, spend money on the wrong things. We should be fixing our bridges, not giving money to foreign countries.
Gas prices? Oh yeah..but who's fault is this? We can blame the gov't, but we always complain when they DO regulate stuff..so now we are being choosy? We, the American public, are the ones who are fascinated with driving larger trucks anc SUVs that we don't need. 20 years ago, mommy drove a 4 door car or wagon, not an Expedition that gets horrible mileage. Our perception of what we "need" has changed a lot. .Supply and demand, baby.....
Market saturation: The prices on vehicles have gone up radically over the last two decades, much more than the median income. Hence the need for 48, 60, 72, 84 month loans...people otherwise couldn't afford them at all. But if you take a car on a 72/mo loan. You almost HAVE to keep it, since it will depreciate faster than you can pay it off, so you have to keep it a lot longer to get right side up. This all leads back to the fact that people are not buying new cars every two years like they use to.
My friend I talked to yesterday. He is only getting 20-30 hours at the dealer he works at. I am trying to whittle him down to work where I'm at. Our diesel mechanics start at $20/hr, 40hrs guaranteed. His thing is the dealer is the first real job he got out of high school, and the thought of leaving his security blanket is a bit scary for him.
