Do We expect Too much from new cars

[Russo]

Originally Posted by jd10013

the government printing money has nothing to do with it. that causes an equal rise in both wages and prices. inflation isn't good, as it's generally a hidden tax and crushes the lower income brackets. but it doesn't make things more expensive without an equal increase in wages. the only place the printing of money is relative is in trade. when it drops in value vs other currencies, it makes imports from those countries more expensive as we have to provide more dollars because ours are worth less. but the flip side is, a weaker dollar makes our imports cheaper outside the US, which is why Bush and now Obama have been plenty happy to have a dollar that's worth less. it's also why the Chinese have been keeping their currency undervalued vs. the dollar for 20 yrs now. the killer for us is Oil, as we import most of what we use. since it's priced in dollars, our weaker dollar is what's driving the price so high

what makes cars more expensive in the sense of what an an average person can afford, is what your getting. the earliest car I can remember was a 76 dodge aspen station wagon my parents bought. there was no AC, there was not FM radio, tape deck, and the CD player was almost 2 decades away. there weren't air bags, traction control, abs, and so on. the car didn't have an ECM, or dozens of BCM's to run it. didn't even have fuel injection.

you just skipped an entire economics lesson to get to your second point.. government prints money, that money loses value.. it's not like the currency is backed by anything anymore.. if we still had a gold standard, government could buy more gold, print more money, and the currency would maintain it's value.. but when you have a Federal Reserve creating trillions of new credit it reduces the purchasing power of the dollar.. that reduction in purchasing power affects anything in the US economy, whether it be wages, insurance, food, gas, etc.. the best thing this country could do is to end the Federal Reserve, let interest rates rise, let the dollar tank, then restructure with a commodities backed currency.. something the government can't print and manipulate like gold, silver, or oil.. you know why Muammar Gaddafi was taken out? because he was only accepting a gold backed currency for Libya's oil exports and rejected payments in US Dollars..

[SSinisterLS3]

Ok, I'll say it. This coming from someone who has fully built their engine and gone forced induction. Why couldn't YOU be happy with the car as GM intended instead of changing it all from the suspension up to the motor?

[OldScoolCamaro]

...in response to the OP's question...yes. There is an overwhelming sense of entitlement today with society...not only with our car, but with everthing in a general sense. If something does not go right, or there is a problem with the product, or some other issue that went awry....at times there are those who cry foul to the extent they go off the deep end and demand justice, or else. LOL. The liberal world, it's doctrine, and sense of self righteousness created this trait. What's a bunch of BS is all it takes or is some puke to complain enough, about something, that causes so much concern to the entity that it causes a knee jerk reaction and backlash so extreme and far opposite on the pendulum swing beyond any common sense or reason. Crying.....there should be no crying allowed...shit happens.. deal with it...if one does not like something.....why take it to the media, lawers, and in turn liberal court systems who have authorities with no backbone to stickup for duty, honor, or Country. But those who wish to use our first Amendment, while distaining our Constitution, find it so easy to move between and circument the laws of the system to protect themselves, when they overtly do not care about anything else other than themselves or their self interest. Rant done.

[GoldenBear]

As someone who has owned and still does own several vehicles from the "golden era" of muscle cars I can say from first hand experience that I believe that today's vehicles are much better vehicles in just about every way than the vehicles of that golden era. The classics evoke a lot of nostalgia and are fun to look at and listen to, especially at car shows, but I don't think that they really aren't ideal vehicles to drive on a regular basis these days. The classics aren't terribly safe, or fuel efficient, or particularly green, and they require quite a bit of maintenance if they are driven regularly.

I enjoy driving my 2013 ZL1 for its performance, comfort, and easy drivability, much more than I enjoy driving my older vehicles, and for a long trip it's not even close. I think that today's vehicles provide a relatively better value dollar for dollar (adjusted for inflation, of course) than the vehicles of the muscle car era ever did. It's a great time to be a car enthusiast.