Pushing Af-Ford-ability to Be-Honda reasonable limit
Photo by Martin Katler on Unsplash
In North America, owning a car is a rite of passage that many get extremely excited for. High school represented the first chance for many to begin to truly exercise their independence, and those that were lucky enough to find themselves with a vehicle often found themselves a social rung above the rest. Thing is... the car didn't even have to be nice! For us at a young age, a beaten down twenty-year-old car with a duct taped rear window and an exhaust that pumped out enough fumes to melt several icebergs on its own was approaching the pinnacle of coolness. Was it expensive? Probably (relatively speaking), but for the low cost of maybe a few thousand dollars, you had your freedom! You had achieved your learner's license, graduated to a full license, and you could drive your own ride WITHOUT needing to ask permission to borrow the car. It seems silly now to think something so simple was such a big deal, but that was reality for a lot of people.
Fast forward another decade or two and cars... well... they remain just as important for some! Yes, they are nearly a necessity for anyone not living in a major city center with access to public transit (or those working from home), but there are certainly people who hold them in much higher value than others. Maybe it's the newest model, or the electric model, or the sports car, or the car with all the bells and whistles. These are the people who go and wash their cars by hand just to guarantee that extra 10% shine factor.
And hey, there's no problem with that! You do you! Do what makes you happy!
Personally, that person is not me. I am definitively not a car person. I know a car is typically on four wheels, has a pedal for stop and a pedal for go, and you do your best not to hit other people's vehicles with yours (truly I'm a fountain of knowledge). Seriously though, if something goes wrong with my car, I'm not playing doctor with it. I'll pay to have someone who IS into cars look at my car.
What I am a bit better at understanding is how costs rise and fall, how industries respond to change, and how shitty business models can negatively affect a consumer base. I'm also better at understanding and seeing patterns. So what do I see? We are headed back in time, because cars are becoming the new status symbol just as they were back in the days of high school.
But what's causing cars of all things to be the new status symbol? How is owning and maintaining a car harder than ever before? And what may the future look like for prospective vehicle owners?
Photo by Jenny Ueberberg on Unsplash
Vroom vroom
Since they began being truly mass produced, people have gravitated towards cars. You can hate them for all the flaws they come with, for the damage they do to the environment, and for the hostility it can inspire in those on the road, but you have to admit that they're really bloody useful. Need to get across the city and staring down a 40km journey? It's unlikely you'll find a faster way to make it happen short of a rail system that runs to and from those exact points you need. The utility and efficiency they offer to... everything... is incalculable (unless you feel like carrying two bins of groceries for several blocks in the snow).
But why cars? Why not the almighty house? The iconic house of the American Dream itself stands alone at the top of the pile and represents the finish line that many consider as the "I made it" point in their life. It makes sense that this would be the status symbol we're after right? For most people, the only thing that you will buy that's worth more than a car is a house. Those are the two big ticket items, and unless you're buying a luxury sports car, the price tags are not even close.
Well... that's the way it used to be at least.
Inflation and the housing market have ballooned and killed most people's shot at a "Starter home" purchase. It's a rental world out there now unless you have a half million burning a hole in your pocket or feel like going toe-to-toe with a company in a bidding war. The house is simply off the table for almost everyone who doesn't have serious investments made already. It's not an option. Is a private jet considered a status symbol? Yes, but it's so outside the affordability for the average person that we don't really consider it as part of the scale. That is exactly what has happened with houses.
So the scale moves down a notch and, as I mentioned above, the car is the next thing down. It represents the most costly purchase that the average person will make, and this is especially true if you have a luxury vehicle.
For those who are in spaces with good public transit, they have the ability to escape this overarching status symbol trap. They are not reliant on the vehicle to be at the top of the social ladder of achievement. Right? Not so fast... reliance is not the same as desire. Needs and wants are different things. Yes, taking the bus is more cost effective, but rolling up to literally anywhere in your own vehicle... is there not some sort of cool factor that still lingers? That's the trap. It's all about status, and without home ownership as a widely achievable goal, vehicle ownership is THE status to chase.
Photo by Simon Stratford on Unsplash
No one said it would be cheap
So let's say you make the climb and reach the (new) top of the mountain. You've got a vehicle! Problem is... it's crazy expensive! Yes, I understand that a vehicle will come with a price tag on its own accord and yes, I know that the cost of maintaining a car was already high as it was.
BUT
It's getting worse.
Part of it has to do with the cost of just about everything else these days. Supply chains are still recovering from the pandemic situation and inflation seems to still be rampantly tearing into everyone's savings. Pretty much anything is going to cost more than it did even a few years ago simply by virtue of existing. The unfortunate part is that this includes all the things that go into a vehicle. And there are a lot of things that go into a car.
Registration... more expensive.
Insurance... more expensive.
Repairs and servicing... more expensive.
This isn't even including the prices of fuel either. In some places this year, the price of fuel broke records. In one particular instance, the price was actually higher than in a movie where an apocalypse had occurred (that's comforting). The cost to fill up is only going to continue to rise, just as the rest of the factors will too. Nobody said maintaining your status at the top would be cheap and easy after all.
To add on to all the already elevated costs, there's the added pressure that comes from businesses trying to be nickel and dime their customers wherever possible. I mentioned earlier that I'm half decent at recognizing shitty business models and this fits the bill (as far as the customer is concerned at least). Cars are already expensive to buy and maintain, so heck, why not section off features behind a paywall and charge for basics that are built into the car? Yes, that really happened. The pushback has been that, inevitably, people hacked their cars to get around the paywall. It's yet another very unwanted factor that is now at play when dealing with vehicle purchases, but it's just as interesting to see that people will resort to the equivalent of piracy to beat the system.
Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
Driving off into the sunset
It's clear that vehicles, like houses, are not going anywhere anytime soon. Entire industries don't evaporate overnight, especially ones that involve things like basic survival and critical supply chain dependency. But are we doomed to see the vehicle market go down the same path as housing and become the next "unachievable" status symbol? Housing saw a decent size turnaround from an ownership market to a rental market, but vehicles have had leasing plans for decades. It's not as if the same question between owning and renting is present... we are only focused on the possession of a vehicle here, not the status of ownership.
What IS present in the vehicle realm is all of the extras. Yes, housing has things like heat, water, and electricity, but those are hardly considered extras. You don't go and buy a house expecting to not have those things (for the most part). But vehicles? They can pinch you for whatever non-essential they want... and they'll continue to find more ways to make that happen. Where we're headed with vehicles boils down to not just who has a vehicle, but who has the vehicle with features and functionality.
There is a massive price gap between housing and vehicles for the most part. To say you can't afford to buy a house versus a car is a leap in magnitude so large the price tag has to add a digit or two. It means that while housing is out of reach, cars will be somewhat within reach for a while as far as price is concerned. With monthly payment models being all the rage these days, it won't be uncommon to see vehicles begin to shelf all their best features behind a paywall and ask for an extra $50 here and there for whatever they want. The content carving models we see cropping up in the entertainment industry are coming for the auto industry, and they will determine who is willing to shell out for status.
And that's the reality for those who will be able to afford it at all. Many simply just won't buy in out of the inability to do so. Public transit will become extremely popular once again as those with personal vehicles burn around unbeholden to a route with set stops. Forget fancy sports cars, hybrids, big trucks, and luxury vehicles... in the future it may be the guy in the 2035 Toyota Corolla that steals the show.
Photo by Aniq Danial on Unsplash
End of the road
The need for vehicles and transport isn't going to go away. Personal and professional life both demand that people have the ability to get to and from places, and even with increasing pushes for VR technology, nothing will ever be able to replace someone being in a physical location. The question will simply become how people get to and from places. Professionally, will you be required to have access to a vehicle (as some jobs already require)? And personally, do you want to be the person that has to walk to the bus stop while everyone else drives off at the end of a night out? What's the value in having that transport readily available?
Houses may have become widely unaffordable, but vehicles still are. This may not last forever, and it's important to recognize that a shift in thinking may be required as more look to public transit to continue saving money. Getting around by means of mass transit is normal in other areas of the world, and all that remains to happen is that it makes the jump to North America. It may be the reality that the younger generations just accept by way of knowing nothing else. Forget luxury cars, it's cars-as-a-luxury the way things are headed.
~IR
Do you have a personal vehicle or ride public transit? Do you think vehicles will become unaffordable soon? Or maybe you just have a comment to add? Check out the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn page and let everyone know. Don't forget to follow or like the page for updates! And share this article if you feel others should give it a read!
Return to Home
Return to Technology
Comments