Why I'm smiling this afternoon...

[Evergreen6]

Originally Posted by RockerBox

Cars have gotten too expensive. Most working people can't swing a $45K car.

Cars have mostly kept pace with inflation. It's the cost of everything else that is starting to squeeze the average household budget. Housing, food, gasoline, education, healthcare. Factor in stale wage growth and cars "feel" more expensive because there's less money in the average household budget to pay for them.

[Dfault]

Eh, I'm 25 and I bring home over 100K a year...I guess some people don't mind working their asses off for money to afford nice things lol.

I bought my first Camaro at the age of 24! It was a birthday gift to myself and then again this year I bought a new one as a gift as well. The only things my parents did to help was by driving me to the dealership to pick it up.

You do have a very nice looking Camaro.

[KeyWil]

Originally Posted by Evergreen6

Cars have mostly kept pace with inflation. It's the cost of everything else that is starting to squeeze the average household budget. Housing, food, gasoline, education, healthcare. Factor in stale wage growth and cars "feel" more expensive because there's less money in the average household budget to pay for them.

Very true.

[Agent 31]

Originally Posted by alaskacamaro

um, a fully loaded SS (1LE) is the price of an "average" new vehicle in todays market.

Right but the average "affordable" price for a brand new car that "most young adults (18-24)" who work, is around 18-23k. Most young adults don't have a substantial down payment and end up financing most of the cost plus TTL. At that price, with a reasonable interest rate, the monthly payment will be in the affordable range. Basically, a base model 1LS is pushing it for most young adults. A 2SS/RS seems like a far away dream.
If you work hard and are fortunate enough to afford a 40k+ car as a young adult then great for you, but most young adults just can't.

[SSCam99]

It's funny how life is, though! I NEVER thought I'd own a ZL1 and one day my wife asked me, "What's the difference between an SS and a ZL1?" After I finished my comparison she said, "Go see if we can get a good price on one."

It's in our garage.

[Ragnar]

Nice car OP, salt and pepper in my Camaro, no big deal!

[BigShow1960]

New 2014 1LS closeouts can be had for just around $20K. That to me seems to be darn near entry level econo boxes.

[Gamecock SS]

Hmmm. I owned a 90 ZR1 at an early age and have an SS now. I love both cars, but I honestly overall love my SS more.

It just looks meaner.

[pickwithaustin]

It's all perception. I remember a few years ago I had a meeting with a client and we both pulled in to the parking lot at the same time. He got out of his nice truck and complimented the 1990 Corvette I was driving at the time. "Wow, photographers must make a lot of money to drive something like that!" he exclaimed. I laughed and asked him what he paid for his truck. "Eighteen thousand," he said. I pointed at the Vette. "Twelve grand (used)." I ran into this same guy a year later. He was driving a 1990 Corvette.

The new Camaro's are great cars, but indeed they are average price of new cars these days. I get the most attention from people (photos, compliments) when I'm in the El Camino or the Corvette. I've had comments on the Camaro, but honestly there are a lot of them driving around out here (I see a dozen or more a day, and I don't drive much since I work out of my home).

[ron10]

did you hit him with your cane after he said that?

[pickwithaustin]

Originally Posted by ron10

did you hit him with your cane after he said that?

Cane's vs Diaper on this site a lot. LOL

[Evergreen6]

Originally Posted by Dfault

Eh, I'm 25 and I bring home over 100K a year...I guess some people don't mind working their asses off for money to afford nice things lol.

I bought my first Camaro at the age of 24! It was a birthday gift to myself and then again this year I bought a new one as a gift as well. The only things my parents did to help was by driving me to the dealership to pick it up.

You do have a very nice looking Camaro.

The assumption there is that people who make less than you somehow don't work as hard or are unwilling to "work their asses off". That's simply untrue.

It's also incorrect to think that people at a certain income level should be able to "afford" certain things. Also untrue. You have no idea what they spend their money on, or don't.

[MLAZ1990]

Lol!!!

[TooCool5]

Guy in a pickup thought my Camaro was 40 grand.