Auto Exects say Car of the Future wont be cheap

Yep, the prices keep going up for cars.. Never seen them come down. Except if you bought something from India or China.

My first new car was purchased in 1968. In the subsequent 42 years I always found that the car of the future was priced more than the car of the past.

But, adjusted for inflation, how much money would a new 1914 Ford Model T car cost today? A U.S.Dollar in 1900 would buy a lot more than it does today. cuhulin

Depends on what you want. A Tata Nano of today is a far superior vehicle in every respect compared to the Model T and is also relatively less expensive.

The fortunate good news is that the those so called "experts" are also wrong as such experts commonly are, with the exception that in addition to cheaper cars, there will also simultaneously be more expensive cars.

The inflation adjusted price of a Model T today means nothing because there is not a comparably unequipped car to compare it to. However, if we inflation adjust the $550 1914 Model T to 2010 prices we have a price of roughly $12,000. That is for a car with little more than seats, doors, a 2 speed transmission, and a single transmission drum brake. We have thankfully progressed.

The thing is... there's more of a difference between the Model T and the Model A, than between the Model A and the current model Ford Focus.

There's been a lot of progression, but the progression has slowed.

--scott

Henry Ford put the World on wheels.He also put the Nation on wings.

The idea of comparably equipped IMO is something that is used to hide inflation officially. Increased productivity will by its very nature bring about more for less. Productivity has increased dramatically since the model T days. Inflation is a mechanism by which governments and/or banks can take a slice of the increased productivity for themselves relatively not noticed by the population.

Deflation (of the prices of goods) is the natural state of free market enterprise, and this can be seen in products that beat the rate of inflation. Prices continually decline in constant dollars. Electronics is a prime example.

Or a Pontiac in the last year.

Econo-cars

He's also responsible, unfortunately, for the formation of unions, which have long overstayed their need, and ironically enough one of the main reasons Ford can't be competitive.

Econo-cars

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net wrote in news:9270-4CFD0694-7948@storefull-

The US-market auto of the future is /prohibited/ from being cheap. The cost of regulations and legislation ensures that.

And hey, have you heard that Ray LaHood now wants to put backup cameras in all new cars? It's estimated to cost about $2-billion, and to save about

I heard/read about those back up cameras a week or so ago.Some people still wont watch where or what they are backing up to. cuhulin

Most politicians/political appointees have a demonstarted lack of brains, and this bunch are the poster children.

Ooops...meant to post that in Toyota... ;)

snipped-for-privacy@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) wrote in news:idje9n$npf$1 @panix2.panix.com:

I'd love to see your point-by-point comparison of those two.

It has slowed for two main reasons:

m6onz5a wrote in news:509fa942-86b8-4c50-90bb- snipped-for-privacy@u25g2000pra.googlegroups.com:

Car prices went down like a rock from about 1908 to about 1930, when the technology was very new. This is what happens to ALL new technologies.

An automotive magazine back in the '80s (R&T?) did a study to see how prices compared over a period between (I think) 1970 and 1985. Many things were cheaper in '85 than they were in '70, but cars had held steady: when adjusted for inflation, cars cost the same in '85 as they did in '70. The authors attributed this phenomenon to the cost of the many regulations that had been enacted in between those years.

I've read that North American regulations and legislation (plus the current fad for multiple airbags) add some $3-4,000 to the price of a new car, and that's the same whether the car is a Kia or a Lexus.

Brent wrote in news:idjhfm$gm3$1 @news.eternal-september.org:

Electronics are still a relatively new technology, so there's a lot of low-hanging fruit available.

Any new technology will see dramatic price reductions as the technology matures. By 1900, petroleum and steel had dropped to about 10% of their

Plus, electronics have mostly escaped regulation and legislation, so there are few barriers to innovation. Can't say that about cars, anymore.

That statement is so brain dead stupid it must be some feeble attempt at comedy.

If cars cost the same in 1985 as they did in 1970 when adjusted for inflation that means the price of cars went up just the same amount as everything else did.

Econo-cars

Several insurance companies are claiming that since backup cameras have become more popular there are more front-end claims. Apparently people are so busy watching the screen they forget to watch their front-end, dinging a wall or vehicle while carefully avoiding the behind object that is being displayed on screen. LOL.

Econo-cars