While politicians and economists scratch their heads at voters upset about affordability in a decent economy, they seem to somehow miss the fact that for most Americans the purchase of a car has become a debt sentence.<\/p>\n
To fix the problem, policymakers must overturn what has been for decades the third rail in American politics. It is time to stop coddling Detroit automakers and accept that \u201ctariff\u201d is not, as President Trump would say<\/a>, \u201cthe most beautiful word in the dictionary\u201d by opening the American market to cars made in China and elsewhere.<\/p>\n People at the bottom of the income scale feel the pain most. Once, they could turn to the used-car lot<\/a>, but even that has also become a minefield of aging, increasingly repair-prone vehicles with six-figure odometers and five-figure price tags.<\/p>\n For anyone on a budget, an aging car is a trap. Auto repair costs jumped 15 percent in the last year alone, driven by the complexity of modern sensors and labor shortages. An average trip to the mechanic now costs roughly $840<\/a>, an amount that around 40 percent of Americans<\/a> likely could not cover with cash they have on hand. When faced with a costly repair, many are forced to choose between paying to fix their vehicle or making their loan payment. Little wonder then that repossessions \u2014 the extreme outcome of the modern automobile affordability crisis \u2014 roughly doubled<\/a> in the last five years and are projected to surpass three million<\/a> by the end of 2026, echoing the peak of the Great Recession.<\/p>\n Losing a car can force you into a state of physical and economic immobility. That is especially true in rural and suburban landscapes where public transit is a ghost.<\/p>\n Yasmin Alexander, a 31-year-old manager at a Little Caesars in Lafayette, La., saved enough money to buy a used 2010 GMC Terrain for $9,000 \u2014 a significant investment given her modest income. The car ran for only six months before the engine failed. After a costly attempt at repairs, the vehicle died again before she even made it home.<\/p>\n Public transit in Lafayette could not meet her needs, so Yasmin relies on her boyfriend, who drives for DoorDash, for a 40-minute commute to work each way.<\/p>\n She was willing to tell her story, but the overwhelming majority of people I interviewed felt such a profound sense of social shame associated at being carless that they wouldn\u2019t speak on the record. Over and over, they described the missed play dates and doctor\u2019s appointments, the day-to-day stress of planning a commute and the shame they felt about falling behind their peers.<\/p>\n The death of the econobox has eroded the independence that used to define American life, leaving motorists in a state of permanent financial and mechanical dependency.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t always like this. In the postwar era, the middle class was growing fast, and Detroit offered a bevy of stripped down sedans with simple, easy-to-fix mechanics, designed for the average American family. If you\u2019re old enough (or watch MeTV), you may remember the Ford Falcon parked on the streets of Mayberry, the fictional town in \u201cThe Andy Griffith Show.\u201d Introduced in 1960, it cost $1,900<\/a> \u2014 or about four months of median family income. In 1973\u2019s \u201cAmerican Graffiti,\u201d Harrison Ford looked cool in a 1955 Chevrolet 150. The price tag in 1955? $1,900, or around $22,000 in today\u2019s dollars.<\/a><\/p>\n Or take the Honda Civic.<\/p>\n Up to 63 horsepower engine and front-wheel drive<\/p>\n First Generation<\/p>\n 1972\u20131979<\/p>\n Lower hood line and more glass for less drag<\/p>\n Fourth Generation<\/p>\n 1987\u20131991<\/p>\n Leather seats are offered for the first time<\/p>\n Eighth Generation<\/p>\n 2005\u20132010<\/p>\n Pandora Radio became an option<\/p>\n Ninth Generation<\/p>\n 2011\u20132017<\/p>\n Up to 200 horsepower engine<\/p>\n Eleventh Generation<\/p>\n 2021\u2013Today<\/p>\n The first Honda Civic hit the American market in 1973, at the height of the oil crisis. Small, fuel efficient and reliable, it quickly gained a following with families looking to economize. It cost just $2,100, or $15,100 today.<\/p>\n Over time, Honda changed the design. By 1988, the Civic had upgraded suspensions, a more powerful engine, more legroom and cabin space and a sunroof.<\/p>\n Honda added navigational systems and heated seats in the 2000s.<\/p>\n In the 2010s, the Civic had a new sound system with Bluetooth controls and a push-button start.<\/p>\n Today, the cars are more than 3.5 feet longer and 3 times more powerful than the original model. With an average transaction price of over $30,000, they cost almost twice as much in real terms as they did when they were introduced.<\/p>\n What happened? How did a basic necessity of American life become a luxury good? We have to start with a transformation of the economy itself beginning in the late 1970s. While hourly compensation for the typical worker remained nearly stagnant, massive stock market bull runs and rising home equity have enriched the most affluent households. Today, there are so many wealthy people who can afford luxury cars that it simply isn\u2019t that profitable for companies to produce cars for the bottom 40 percent of Americans by income.<\/p>\n That\u2019s part of the reason manufacturers started rolling out so many higher-priced, higher-tech vehicles: The profits generated by an inexpensive car pale in comparison to what can be earned from a souped-up midsize S.U.V. or a light truck. Beginning with the release of its 2001 King Ranch, Ford has rolled out a dizzying array of increasingly elaborate and expensive models of its basic truck, the F-150. The top-of-the line \u201cPlatinum Plus\u201d model now boasts massaging front seats and a Bang & Olufsen Unleashed 14-speaker audio system, and often retails for almost $90,000 \u2014 compared with $29,000 (adjusted for inflation) for a basic model in 1990<\/a>. Today, Detroit doesn\u2019t need the average American to buy a car; better to sell affluent households their second S.U.V.<\/p>\n As Detroit sold more luxury vehicles, the number of inexpensive cars on the market dwindled <\/p>\n Average transaction price by category, adjusted for inflation<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t just changes in the economy that led carmakers to abandon the econobox. Decades of protectionism enabled this shift.<\/p>\n What started in 1964 as a retaliatory strike against European duties on American poultry grew over time into an impenetrable shield to safeguard domestic automakers\u2019 sales of light trucks and United Auto Workers\u2019 jobs from a rising tide of foreign imports. Both political parties participated; in 1981 the Reagan administration pressured the Japanese government to cap vehicle exports, leading the Japanese to shift to more expensive vehicles that would increase profit. Detroit, naturally, raised prices<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n Even during the free trade era of NAFTA \u2014 initially proposed by President Ronald Reagan, negotiated by President George H.W. Bush and ultimately pushed through by President Bill Clinton \u2014 the United States maintained a tariff on imported passenger cars from outside North America. During this period, lawmakers set fuel economy standards for trucks and S.U.V.s that were roughly 6 to 8 miles per gallon less stringent than those for cars. They\u2019d hoped the change would keep costs low for farmers and tradespeople who needed larger engines for heavy work, but it ultimately helped drive Detroit to dump the fuel-efficient sedan for the large, high-profit margin S.U.V.<\/p>\n After the financial crisis of 2008, policymakers turned against globalization and free trade. In his first term, President Trump declared foreign cars a threat to national security and slapped a 25 percent tariff on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, including auto components and electric vehicles. President Biden doubled down on them, and in his second term, Mr. Trump imposed another sweeping 25 percent tariff on imported automobiles and parts \u2014 a policy that was expected to add several thousand dollars to the sticker price of even the most affordable vehicles.<\/p>\n Decades of protectionism shielded Detroit from the robust global competition that would have forced it to match the quality, fuel efficiency and pricing of its foreign rivals \u2014 and had the unintended consequence of forcing millions of Americans to pay well above market prices elsewhere in the world.<\/p>\n Just 14 years ago, it was still relatively easy to find a new car for around $25,000 (adjusted for inflation) or less. There were roughly a dozen models to choose from.<\/p>\n Since then, many have been discontinued. Today, there are only four cars available at that price point, and Detroit has no plans to add more.<\/p>\n There is one obvious way to bring more inexpensive cars into the American market: If the Trump administration lifts the embargo on EVs and hybrids made by Chinese automakers and sold worldwide, the number could rise to 11.<\/p>\n Those Chinese cars aren\u2019t just cheaper than the American alternatives. They\u2019re often better. Take BYD\u2019s slightly more upscale Seal sedan. It\u2019s similar to Tesla\u2019s Model 3, introduced nine years ago. But the Seal costs<\/a> roughly $20,000 less than the Model 3. The Seal\u2019s premium model offers<\/a> substantially more horsepower, and its battery not only lasts longer, it can also be 80 percent charged in just 37 minutes. The Seal isn\u2019t just a budget alternative; it is a more advanced machine.<\/p>\n Policymakers and critics have long argued that opening the U.S. market to Chinese cars could destroy thousands of American manufacturing jobs, and they point out that the Chinese government subsidizes its electric vehicle companies so heavily that no foreign for-profit auto company can possibly compete in China. Those concerns are valid, but solutions exist. We could allow Chinese automakers to enter the U.S. market provided their cars are manufactured in the U.S., their costs aren\u2019t subsidized by the Chinese government and Chinese automakers satisfy U.S. government security concerns with regard to digital communications.<\/p>\n Canada is already moving in this direction. Two months ago, it slashed the tariffs on some Chinese electric vehicles to 6.1 percent from 100 percent. Soon, Canadians will be able to buy the BYD Dolphin or the Wuling Mini, which are likely to retail for around $20,000 even with tariffs. The United States could do the same.<\/p>\n There are signals that the Trump administration is open to this approach. In a January speech<\/a> at the Detroit Economic Club, Mr. Trump said Chinese automakers were welcome to sell in the United States, so long as they build American factories and hire American workers. And there are reports<\/a> that Ford\u2019s chief executive, Jim Farley, has engaged in preliminary talks with administration officials for a potential joint venture with a Chinese partner that ensures that technology is shared and profits remain on U.S. soil \u2014 the terms China once imposed on us.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump\u2019s claim that we have the greatest economy in history<\/a> is pure fiction, but the affordability crisis is not, and it will not recede quietly. The real political test for 2028 will be whether any candidate has the courage to stop treating mobility \u2014 both the physical freedom of affordable automobile transportation and the economic promise of upward social movement \u2014 as a lost cause.<\/p>\n For decades, the econobox \u2014 the cheap, unpretentious, boxy workhorse \u2014 was more than just a staple of the American middle class; it offered millions a chance at the American dream. Bringing it back by re-embracing free trade could turn the automobile into what it was always meant to be: not a luxury for the few, but an engine of prosperity for the many.<\/p>\n Clifford Winston is a nonresident senior fellow in the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution. He is the author, most recently, of \u201cMarket Corrections Not Government Interventions: A Path to Improve the US Economy<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Illustration by Joanne Joo. Honda Civic photographs provided by carsized.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters<\/a> to the editor. We\u2019d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips<\/a>. And here\u2019s our email: letters@nytimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, Bluesky<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a> and Threads<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"First](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/honda-civic-1st-gen-1972.png\")
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