re: New cars, once part of the American dream, now out of reach for many

The only new affordable cars that came out in the last year or two are the Toyota Corolla Cross and the Chevy Trax. Both are very small hatchback/SUV types. And both are realistically mid $20,000 range. The Corolla and Civic are still around and are in that range as well. But they have a wait list right now in some markets.

Manufacturers are cancelling affordable models like the Focus, Cruze, a Fit, Yaris, etc. They rarely add new affordable models back to the lineup. So demand for used vehicles climbs and keeps prices high.

During recessions, the car companies need affordable models to sell. Seems very short sighted to cancel the less expensive models. It too much of or a vulnerability during economic downturns to only have the higher end, more expensive vehicles.