New-Vehicle Affordability Improved in August to Best Level in 39 Months
New-vehicle affordability improved in August to the best level since May 2021 as every factor moved in the consumer’s favor, according to the Cox Automotive/Moody’s Analytics Vehicle Affordability Index. Factors leading to improved new-vehicle affordability include lower prices and interest rates and higher incomes and incentives.
“The affordability story is complex,” said Cox Automotive Economist Jonathan Smoke. “When analyzing the data, we observe that affordability is becoming less of a macroeconomic issue and more of an automotive industry issue. Automakers are opting to manufacture higher-priced vehicles, so further declines in interest rates will not significantly reduce payments. Instead, income growth will have a greater impact than interest rate changes in the auto industry.”
The Average American Will Drive 10 Cars in Their Lifetime – and Spend Nearly $500K on Them
A financial study released this year laid it all out for U.S. consumers: the average American will spend about $3.3 million in their lifetime. As you might guess, certain sweat-inducing expenses take up the majority of that number. Cars are one of them.
According to the study, if the average American buys their first car at age 17 and then purchases a different vehicle every six years, they’ll own about 10 cars in their lifetime. As such, the associated total costs of driving in the U.S. are somewhat staggering: $470,000.
For perspective, this is about the same as what the average American will spend on their children.
BYD Would Still Have the Cheapest EV in the US, Even With a 100% Tariff
Even with the new 100% tariff on electric vehicles imported from China, BYD would still have the cheapest EV in the US. According to a new report, BYD’s lowest-priced EV would still undercut all US automakers at under $25,000.
BYD has no plans to enter the US passenger vehicle market (it already sells electric buses), the company’s North American CEO Stella Li said. If it did, it could hold an advantage over US automakers. The tariff will take effect on September 27 and is intended to “protect American manufacturers from China’s unfair trade practices,” according to a press release from The White House.
Left Your Kid in the Car? The 2025 Toyota Sienna Will Call You
Automakers have started adding features that remind you to check the back when you park, Toyota has now taken that a step further, adding a feature it calls Advanced Rear Seat Reminder to all Siennas.
Advanced Rear Seat Reminder uses millimeter-wave radar inside the car to check for movement after it’s parked. It can then send notifications to the owner if it thinks they’ve left someone behind. If it senses any movement in the minivan after it’s been turned off, the driver’s door has been opened and closed, and the car has been locked, it will flash the hazard lights and make a noise. After 90 seconds, if you still haven’t come back to check the car, and movement is still detected, it will honk the horn at you.
IIHS: Drivers Quickly Learn to Skirt Limits Set by Partial Automation Systems
Drivers are more likely to multitask when using partial automation, and some manage to do so even while playing by the rules of the systems’ attention requirements, new research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows.
“These results are a good reminder of the way people learn,” said IIHS President David Harkey. “If you train them to think that paying attention means nudging the steering wheel every few seconds, then that’s exactly what they’ll do.”
Drivers were much more likely to check their phones, eat a sandwich or do other visual-manual activities while using Volvo’s Pilot Assist partial automation system than when driving unassisted, a monthlong study of driver behavior that IIHS conducted with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab showed.
To read the complete article on the IIHS website, click here.
