New Cars Are Only for the Rich Now as Automakers Rake in Profits

You can walk onto any Nissan dealer's lot anywhere in the country and drive off in a brand new Nissan Versa for just about the same inflation-adjusted price of a Volkswagen Beetle from the 60s and 70s and the Beetle was the lowest-priced new car you could buy back then for almost its entire production run.

The Versa is better in every measurable way-- it even gets better gas mileage despite weight of all of the extra safety equipment, air conditioning, and camera.

A base optionless Beetle cost $12,000 in 2023 dollars, a Super Beetle (a slightly larger model with brakes that wouldn't kill you, a better suspension, and optional extras like a locking glovebox, map pocket, and day/night mirror) cost $16,500.

A Versa costs $15,500 but you can get $1,000-3,000 off based on how desperate the dealer is to get rid of it.

Nissan dealers won't even try to steer you towards a more expensive car. Dealers want to sell them because they're just sitting on their lots taking up space not selling.

If you don't like Nissan there are plenty of other options in the "what grandma and grandpa paid for your mom's first car when she went off to college 50 years ago" price range.

People don't want cheap cars.

Customers aren't being tricked, or hoodwinked, or gadzooked, or pressured into buying larger SUVs with heated seats, sunroofs, huge infotainment displays, wireless charging, and wifi hotspots. They want them and can afford them.

They'll walk right past all of the Versas and buy an SUV.