I didn't say that hatchbacks were SUVs, it was simply a comp as the sedan market is giving way to the compact SUV in the US.

$36K is pretty close to average car price in the US now:

https://www.edmunds.com/about/press/average-vehicle-transact...

I think you are right that there are many people who can't afford a $35K car which is why leasing is seeing such an uptick:

https://www.edmunds.com/about/press/automotive-lease-volume-...

A compact SUV is one of the best selling card this year in the US and at ~20K its not actually that pricey compared the average car price in the USA of $34K.

And the compact SUV is looking like it it will dislodge the sedan's long dominance. See:

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4064632-new-u-s-car-sales-k...

and

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2017/05/01/why-nis...

>$36K is pretty close to average car price in the US now:

You have to keep in mind that $36k 'average' number is highly inflated by luxury purchases. Most people end up spending closer to $20k. I think when they hit below that magical $19,995 number we will see massive adoption.

Yeah, that's a mean not a median, and is therefore the wrong average to use for this purpose, which calls for median (or even mode in preference to mean.)