Interesting Consumer Price Index chart, from 1978 to now
Basically, some items are going up much faster than inflation (Cost of college being #1) and some are flat to declining (cost of cars, televisions).
I’ve got this theory that people are buying more expensive cars because of zero down, 0% interest loans that encourage them to get overextended. This leads to debt-slavery, meaning you become accustomed to always having a car payment, even though that (probably) isn’t necessary.
It seems similar to the subprime lending problem: The market for home buyers stagnated, then the Fed lowered rates and sub-prime lenders started financing questionable buyers, propping-up the housing market (creating a bubble, in many cases). If that’s true, then the auto industry is headed for the same contraction on a nation (global?) scale.
There’s lots of variables, as discussed in my Car Lounge Topic