LOWER-PRICED NEW CARS ARE GAINING POPULARITY, AND NOT JUST FOR CASH-POOR BUYERS
AppleMagazine|October 25, 2024
Had she wanted to, Michelle Chumley could have afforded a pricey new SUV loaded with options.
LOWER-PRICED NEW CARS ARE GAINING POPULARITY, AND NOT JUST FOR CASH-POOR BUYERS

But when it came time to replace her Chevrolet Blazer SUV, for which she’d paid about $40,000 three years ago, Chumley chose something smaller. And less costly.

With her purchase of a Chevrolet Trax compact SUV in June, Chumley joined a rising number of buyers who have made vehicles in the below-average $20,000-to-$30,000 range the fastest-growing segment of the nation’s new-auto market.

“I just don’t need that big vehicle and to be paying all of that gas money,” said Chumley, a 56-year-old nurse who lives outside Oxford, Ohio, near Cincinnati.

Across the industry, auto analysts say, an “affordability shift” is taking root. The trend is being led by people who feel they can no longer afford a new vehicle that would cost them roughly today’s average selling price of more than $47,000 — a jump of more than 20% from the pre-pandemic average.

To buy a new car at that price, an average buyer would have to spend $737 a month, if financed at today’s average loan rate of 7.1%, for just under six years before the vehicle would be paid off, according to Edmunds.​com, an auto research and pricing site. For many, that is financially out of reach.

Yet there are other buyers who, like Chumley, could manage the financial burden but have decided it just isn’t worth the cost. And the trend is forcing America’s automakers to reassess their sales and production strategies. With buyers confronting inflated prices and still-high loan rates, sales of new U.S. autos rose only 1% through September over the same period last year. If the trend toward lower-priced vehicles proves a lasting one, more generous discounts could lead to lower average auto prices and slowing industry profits.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 25, 2024 من AppleMagazine.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة October 25, 2024 من AppleMagazine.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من APPLEMAGAZINE مشاهدة الكل
OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY SAYS 'MISINFORMATION' FROM FOES IS A STRONG HEADWIND IT MUST FIGHT
AppleMagazine

OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY SAYS 'MISINFORMATION' FROM FOES IS A STRONG HEADWIND IT MUST FIGHT

The U.S offshore wind energy industry says it needs to fight back against disinformation being spread by opponents of wind farms.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 01, 2024
HOW TO PREPARE YOUR BODY AND MIND FOR THE END OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
AppleMagazine

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR BODY AND MIND FOR THE END OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

The good news: You will get a glorious extra hour of sleep. The bad: It’ll be dark as a pocket by late afternoon for the next few months in the U.S.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 01, 2024
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SCAMMERS OFFERING FAKE JOBS
AppleMagazine

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SCAMMERS OFFERING FAKE JOBS

Between finding openings, sending out your resume and interviewing, looking for a job is tough. Now a growing trend of scammers impersonating recruiters is making it even harder.

time-read
4 mins  |
November 01, 2024
IN 'IBELIN' AND 'GRAND THEFT HAMLET,' VIDEO GAME REALMS DRAW FILMMAKERS WITH VIRTUAL CAMERAS
AppleMagazine

IN 'IBELIN' AND 'GRAND THEFT HAMLET,' VIDEO GAME REALMS DRAW FILMMAKERS WITH VIRTUAL CAMERAS

Film productions often wrestle with shifts in the weather, the threat of the crew going into overtime or the fading of a day’s light. Less common are concerns over the cast slipping off the top of a blimp.

time-read
5 mins  |
November 01, 2024
WORLD SERIES GAME 3 AVERAGES 13.64 MILLION.BEATS 'MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL'
AppleMagazine

WORLD SERIES GAME 3 AVERAGES 13.64 MILLION.BEATS 'MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL'

The World Series beat “Monday Night Football” in the battle for television viewers.

time-read
1 min  |
November 01, 2024
RESEARCHERS SAY AN AI-POWERED TRANSCRIPTION TOOL USED IN HOSPITALS INVENTS THINGS NO ONE EVER SAID
AppleMagazine

RESEARCHERS SAY AN AI-POWERED TRANSCRIPTION TOOL USED IN HOSPITALS INVENTS THINGS NO ONE EVER SAID

Tech behemoth OpenAI has touted its artificial intelligence-powered transcription tool Whisper as having near “human level robustness and accuracy.”

time-read
5 mins  |
November 01, 2024
GOOGLE'S MONEYMAKING MACHINE STILL PUMPING OUT MASSIVE PROFITS DESPITE MULTIPLE THREATS
AppleMagazine

GOOGLE'S MONEYMAKING MACHINE STILL PUMPING OUT MASSIVE PROFITS DESPITE MULTIPLE THREATS

Google is still thriving while the company navigates through a pivotal shift to artificial intelligence and battles regulators trying to topple its internet empire.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 01, 2024
FITNESS APP STRAVA GIVES AWAY LOCATION OF BIDEN. TRUMP AND OTHER LEADERS, FRENCH NEWSPAPER SAYS
AppleMagazine

FITNESS APP STRAVA GIVES AWAY LOCATION OF BIDEN. TRUMP AND OTHER LEADERS, FRENCH NEWSPAPER SAYS

An investigation by French newspaper Le Monde found that the highly confidential movements of U.S. President Joe Biden, presidential rivals Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and other world leaders can be easily tracked online through a fitness app that their bodyguards use.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 01, 2024
CALIFORNIA STUDENTS WANT CAREERS IN AI. HERE'S HOW COLLEGES ARE MEETING THAT DEMAND
AppleMagazine

CALIFORNIA STUDENTS WANT CAREERS IN AI. HERE'S HOW COLLEGES ARE MEETING THAT DEMAND

Nathan Lim, a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, recently spent the summer working on an artificial intelligence tool to help students evaluate their senior project ideas for ethical and social justice implications.

time-read
8 mins  |
November 01, 2024
THE EU IS IMPOSING DUTIES ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES FROM CHINA AFTER TRADE TALKS FAIL
AppleMagazine

THE EU IS IMPOSING DUTIES ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES FROM CHINA AFTER TRADE TALKS FAIL

The European Union is imposing duties on imports of electric vehicles from China starting Wednesday after talks between Brussels and Beijing failed to find an amicable solution to their trade dispute.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 01, 2024