Automakers are making more expensive cars So chip manufacturers shifted their production to serve those companies. When car sales dropped dramatically during the early parts of the lockdown, auto manufacturers slashed orders for the chips.Īround the same time, as schools and work went online, people bought additional laptops, iPads, TVs, video games and other electronic goods for their home. The primary reason cars have gotten so pricey can be traced back to the computer chip shortage that started during the pandemic. There's also no end in sight in an era when interest rates are rising and the cost of borrowing will likely go up even more. Not to mention gas prices that crossed $5 a gallon recently and are still hovering near these record levels. Indeed, that high dollar figure doesn't even account for insurance or parking for those who have to pay for it. "Unfortunately for the segment of the population that probably needs it the most, it's getting more and more out of reach," Drury notes.īusiness Why buying a car is still such a miserable experience right now Then there's school drop-offs, doctors appointments, grocery shopping and more.Īnd yet, for more and more Americans owning a car is becoming unaffordable. People rely on cars to get to work - 3 out of 4 Americans commute to work by car. In fact, they play an essential role in the economy. However, cars aren't just a symbol of freedom. "I joke with people that every new car purchase is a luxury car purchase, I don't care what you're buying," says Ivan Drury, senior manager of insights at the car buying expert Edmunds. The average monthly car payment crossed $700 a month earlier this year, the highest on record, according to Cox Automotive/Moody's Analytics. Cars have been celebrated in movies and eternalized in songs for evoking all that.Īnd right now, that feeling of freedom comes with a pretty hefty price tag.
The wide open roads, the wind in your hair, the feeling of freedom when you drive. A motorist drives between flowers along the Angeles Crest Highway in the Angeles National Forest northwest of La Canada, Calif.Ĭars have long had their own special place in America.
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