Sticker shock....!!!

[JDgreen227]

Read a feature story on the new 2015 Suburban in Motor Trend this morning...it said a loaded LTZ 4WD would have a sticker price of $71,385....for a HALF TON model. Back in early Y2K I paid $34,830 for a 3/4 ton Yukon XL SLT with every possible factory option. I was earning $18.26 an hour back then and I thought that was good money...but it truthfully baffles me how the average Joe today is going to able to afford a new truck that costs close to $71,000 after tax even with a GM discount. Oh, just so you know how I old I must be...back in '71 when I got my first full time job, my first new set of wheels was a '73 Nova...only $3185 out the door. I wanted the loaded Suburban they had on the floor but that was $5380...out of my price range.

My biased opinion is that GM loads up new vehicles with features like Forward Collision Alert, Front Automatic Braking, Front/Rear Park Assist, Side Blind Zone Alert with Lane Change Alert, Glass Breakage Sensors, Interior Motion Sensors, Magnetic Ride, etc, etc, etc. to justify jacking up the sticker prices. And it's not just GM that adds more and more useless redundant trouble prone electronic crap that a careful driver will never really need. I'm going to run my Y2K model into the ground.

Thanks for listening.

 

[orezok]

I've come to realize that the major manufacturers have abandoned the middle class. Many of them are going "upscale" with products that only the rich can afford and they can double or triple their profits by doing this. Yes they probably sell less, but overall profits go up and there are less warranties to worry about.

Try and buy a basic appliance anymore. They are not available, only those with a lot of bling!

 

[schmism]

sounds like the classic mark it up to mark it down.

those that can pay and want a new fancy truck will show up on day one and pay 70K..... 8 months later there will be 15K in incentives plus rebates plus loyity blabla bla.... then your 70K sticker truck leaves the lot for 45K and OMG I SAVED 25K!

 

[fordmantpw]

$71k is a bit steep for a Suburban. But, as you mentioned, it has a LOT of goodies. Now, take some (most) of those goodies off and I'm sure you can get one for a decent price.

Manufacturers produce loaded vehicles because that's what people want. If you want a less loaded model, buy one. They don't ALL come with all those electronic goodies.

And if you look, my guess is that there are fewer problems with the electronic "crap" than there is with the mechanical stuff. Electronics are not normally "trouble prone".

 

[schmism]

Electronics are not normally "trouble prone".

1) you must have never owned a BMW
2) you must not provide "tech support" for the elderly parents.
3) these electronic devices that are not normally trouble prone must never be thrown away.... oh wait

An estimated 50 million tons of E-waste are produced each year. The USA discards 30 million computers each year and 100 million phones are disposed of in Europe each year.

 

[fordmantpw]

1) you must have never owned a BMW

No, I haven't. And since BMW has such a very small % of the market, even if every single BMW has electronic issues (which they don't) my theory still holds.

2) you must not provide "tech support" for the elderly parents.

Actually, I do. Incapable users is not the same as trouble prone equipment.

3) these electronic devices that are not normally trouble prone must never be thrown away.... oh wait

Which of the devices in your quote is found in cars from the factory (by computers, they are referring to PC's/laptops, not PCM's in cars, which would be there without all the electronic gadgetry)? And what does the waste have to do with being trouble free? Seriously, that statement is grasping. We also use coal to fire power plants, fuel to travel with, etc. That's all waste, correct? The whole waste issue is a complete different subject than electronics being trouble free and cars costing too much.

 

[Rustyiron]

$71k is not too bad.......IF IT LAST'S 30 YEARS!:laughing:

 

[Toddao]

In 1984 my 3/4 suburban was $16K, my 1994 1500 was $29K , the 2002 was $42k, at one time had both the 94 & 2002 in the garage. Then gas when over $4.00 a gallon. Loved those rolling living rooms

 

[Toddao]

Those prices is what I Ipad , not sticker

 

[JDgreen227]

In 1984 my 3/4 suburban was $16K, my 1994 1500 was $29K , the 2002 was $42k, at one time had both the 94 & 2002 in the garage. Then gas when over $4.00 a gallon. Loved those rolling living rooms

Had I known gas was going to be $4 a gallon 10 years after I purchased my Yukon (it was about 99 cents a gallon then) I probably would not have bought it.