Automakers beware...Your pricing yourselves out of business...Again....

I was talking to a salesman at the Subaru dealer I work at. We were standing next to a new WRX STI. That had a sticker price of $39,000 and change. And that's not the greedy dealer "Market Value" sticker-that was monroney. "This car-" he said "Is absolutely coveted by people who can't afford it." He continued. "If I take one to lunch it causes a complete work stoppage at Jack in The Box, or McDonalds, or Subway." "Guys 18-25 drool over it." "But even if they've got good credit, or a parent or spouse with good credit to co-sign for them, they can't afford $600 a month payments and another $150 for insurance." "Guys from 30-50 who can afford that much are more likely to buy a BMW 3-series,a Mercedes C-class,a Lexus IS350,or a Cadillac CTS."  "Not an Econobox with a Turbo and a rally car suspension." He made me think a little-and all the other high-performance cars that the magazines are raving about are in the same boat, only worse. Think about it- it's a cliche'-Old guy in a Corvette-but their the only one's who can afford them. Yes a Z06 Corvette is an absolute rocket and can hold it's own against Ferraris, Porsche 911s, Nissan GTRs, Audi R8s etc. And it also has a $100,000+ price tag like all those. Except for New York or California, that's the price of a house. The Challenger Hellcat and the ZL1 Camaro-$70,000 grand. My younger brother who's in his 40's and grew up with me watching "Vanishing Point" "Bullitt", "The Seven-Ups", "Smokey and the Bandit" etc-who loved the Judge I had in high school and has a '69 GTO if his own, would love to have a Hellcat Challenger. But like he said-"If I'm going to spend an extra $1,000 a month-I'll buy a rental house or condo and build something for my retirement, not buy another car that I don't need."  So it's only rich guys in their 50's and 60's who have to have the biggest,and best of everything no matter what it costs. Young guys can't afford to play. And that's sad. When my dad was 20 in 1959 he bought a new Tri-Power 345 hp 389 Pontiac Catlina. When I was 22 in 1984-I had a '78 Trans-Am because I was raised in a Pontiac Household and there was no substitute for 400 cubic inches. My cousin had an '83 Camaro with a 305 and 5-speed. If I had wanted a new L69 / 5-speed '84 T/A or a "5.0" Mustang." I could have easily afforded the $250-300 per month payments on a $12,000 car. I actually bought one of the first Fieros from the Pontiac dealer I worked at. My 21 year old son cannot afford the $600 per month a new 435 hp $32,000 Mustang GT would cost. And that's sad. Like Bunkie Knudsen said-"You can sell a young's man car to an old man, but you can't sell a old man's car to a young man." That's true. But $60,000 Musclecars aimed at aging Baby Boomers-the only people who can afford them-makes me quote Danny DeVito from "Other People's Money". "Get an increasing share of a shrinking market." "Down the Tubes."  This is what killed the Camaro and Firebird back in 2002. A loaded Z/28 was $38,000 in 2002 dollars. A BMW 3 series was cheaper, as was a Lexus IS300. A Nissan 350Z was $26,000. A V8 Mustang GT was $25,000. More than 10 grand cheaper. The average mullet-headed 24 year old couldn't afford $38,000 2002 dollars for a car. The automakers never learn....Mastermind