Very basic cars, similar to (probably better than) the Model T can still be made. For example the Tata Nano.

People can afford much nicer cars now. Regulations also require decent crash safety. There's not much of a market for these kinds of super-cheap cars.

Though it'd be interesting to work out how much an exact clone of the Model T would cost today (mass produced using modern technology).

Mass produced with modern tech? Probably sub $1k and sold at harbor freight.

The model T was pretty simple, and you can buy engines with waaaay more power - and longer life, quieter, more efficient, etc. too for sub $500 at harbor freight and strap it to a frame, and off you go.

I actually doubt that. The raw materials in the T would be pretty expensive now. The vanadium steel for the chassis alone would probably cost a grand.

They’d just pinch weld together some sheet steel.

Assuming we’re talking ‘functional equivalent’, compared to ‘exact copy’.

The Tata Nano isn’t in production, was never sold in the US/EU and it’s initial ultra low price was mostly promotional as it increased by 80% after selling 100k cars.

Still it’s an interesting comparison as they both lacked a heater, AC etc and they were both horrifically unsafe though the Nano was faster. Using nominal currency conversion and inflation calculations the nano was slightly cheaper though I don’t know how accurate of a comparison that really is.

It’s funny you use the term “afford”. People generally can’t afford modern cars, but thanks to buying on credit becoming such a big part of our culture (curiously enough, also thanks to Ford) we can pretend that we can!

I suspect most people buying new cars could actually afford to buy a new car without using credit. The difference is companies want you to make poor financial decisions.

The numbers suggest this is false, for the US at least. The oft-repeated study comes into mind that 47% of Americans can't cover a surprise 500 dollar expense without it being a major worry. See also the fact that the average new car purchased in the US today is 50 grand. I know I'm comparing apples and oranges here but if both those stats are true then it's clear there's likely a large overlap between people who are broke and people who are driving expensive cars.

Aside from that, there's the fact that if you can actually afford it, then it's likely better to finance than to pay cash because you can invest the full purchase price of the car for a higher return than the interest you would pay.

On average a new car buyers keeps their car 8.4 years, while cars are lasting 25 years. Thus new car buyers are literally quite different than the average American.

Anyway, that’s an unexpected 500$ expense. My point was people financing a 50+k new car could fairly easily buy a 17,600 car out of pocket by waiting a little longer before purchase. Large scale changes in purchasing habits would have significant knock on effects for the used car market, but that’s another story.

Did you mean buying a new used car vs a new car? That would financially be a better choice for most americans, yes. But of course you then run into the uncertainty of how long the used car you buy might go before it needs major service. A riskier option that loosely reflects the Pratchett/Vimes “new boots” theory.

No, I meant the cheapest new car vs the new car they can reasonably finance.

I guess I misunderstood your point. I was thinking you were saying that you thought most people walking into a dealership and getting loans a on 30k+ new car could afford to pay cash instead. For the same car.