> The average price of a new car just surpassed $40k In nominal terms, the inflation rate of new cars was in aggregate 3.5%[1] since 1995 (not 3.5% per year, 3

> The average price of a new car just surpassed $40k In nominal terms, the inflation rate of new cars was in aggregate 3.5%[1] since 1995 (not 3.5% per year, 3.5% total.) Over the same period, household after tax income increased by 111% in nominal terms. Therefore the affordability of a new car, for the average household, doubled over the period. Moreover the average longevity of a car increased from 8.5[3] years to 11.9 years[4]. That means the amortized cost of one year of car ownership, in terms of household income, has fallen by a factor of three. [1]https://www.in2013dollars.com/New-cars/price-inflation/1995-to-2020?amount=15000 https://www.in2013dollars.com/New-cars/price-inflation/1995-... [2]https://www.bls.gov/cex/1995/aggregate/age.pdf https://www.bls.gov/cex/1995/aggregate/age.pdf [4]https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a33457915/average-age-vehicles-on-road-12-years/ https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a33457915/average-age-vehi...