The Death of the Basic American Car

[Zorro]

FOR GENERATIONS, working- and middle-class Americans could find an inexpensive, reliable set of wheels to get around. In the 1970s oil crisis, such modest models came to be known as “econoboxes” and surged in popularity, particularly among a large and vibrant middle class.

That era is over.

The average transaction price for a new car now sits around $50,000. In December, it became just about impossible to find one for less than $20,000.

A Honda Civic Hatchback? Most start at $28,000. The Touring Hybrid costs more than $32,000. How about the Chevy Trailblazer? On most lots, its price tag approaches $25,000. The Toyota Corolla? The Hybrid trims start around $26,000. Forget the Chevy Malibu; it was discontinued last year.

While politicians and economists scratch their heads at voters upset about affordability in a decent economy, they seem to somehow miss the fact that for most Americans the purchase of a car has become a debt sentence.

To fix the problem, policymakers must overturn what has been for decades the third rail in American politics. It is time to stop coddling Detroit automakers and accept that “tariff” is not, as President Trump would say, “the most beautiful word in the dictionary” by opening the American market to cars made in China and elsewhere.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/04/13/opinion/affordable-car-cost.html?unlocked_article_code=1.alA.cLFd.OACokuGhJIHD&smid=url-share