Foreign Cars.

[CountrySquire]

I realize that you're in the industry, that's why it's so strange that you seem ignorant of the major improvements in automotive technology over the last 20 years.

For starters, the base 1990 Taurus had a 4 cylinder that put out 90 h.p. It had a 3 speed auto. It didn't have port fuel injection. It didn't have ABS. It didn't have airbags. ABS was optional as was a driver's side airbag, but they were very costly options back then. They were also first generation designs, unlike the much more advanced designs today.

No standard power locks. No standard power windows. Much less sophisticated engine management hardware and software. Much higher level of defects. Noisier. A/C is optional, not standard. AM radio is standard, FM and tape are optional. CDs? In Town Cars, not base Tauruses. Fuel efficiency is higher per horsepower and emissions are lower. Durability is better. Manufacturing processes are less variable resulting in higher quality parts at lower cost. The list goes on and on.

Ask one of your older supplier coworkers if there's a difference in technology between 1990 and now. It's night and day. It's great you're furthering your education but your position on this thread belies a level of ignorance about basic truths in the industry that you ought to be aware of. If you have a chance, talk to someone at the car company about this. They do year over year comparisons of content, technology, performance, efficiency, things formerly optional made standard, betterment of components like when ABS went from 2 channel to 4 channel, all so that they have an accurate picture of the yearly product change when they make their introductory pricing decisions. Since it's a compelling value story, this info is communicated to dealership sales managers and salespersons. It's pretty common knowledge. I've been in the industry since the 80's and the inexorable march toward better value every year was apparent and readily acknowledged back then.

Sorry, you are plain wrong on a few of your points and show your ignorance and still evade my basic question as to why you feel a few of these improvements like passenger side airbags make the new cars stay beneath normal inflation. In 1990 The Standard engine was not a 4 cylinder, you are thinking Escort, you had a choice of two six cylinders, a 3.0 liter and a 3.8 Liter. The standard radio was not an AM, it would have been so in maybe 1980, by 1990 it would have been an AM FM Stereo, AC would have been a standard feature. Standard power locks / windows, I believe you would be getting these in 1990. Manufacturing processes are more robust creating higher quality? True, but Ford received numerous quality awards in the late 80s and Early 90s for its Taurus Line and it was on par with the imports of the time. And so what? As a consumer why do I care about the machines that build my car so long as the final product is what I want? Why would Joe consumer want to pay more for a car simply because it was built with more state of the art automated tooling than the next car? You do point out a few things like the two channel ABS but most of your paragraph is laden with conjecture. I still want to know where is my significant direct savings Ford has realized by putting hundreds of thousands out of work [[which includes indirect people dependant on Auto industry) and awarding that work to lower wage countries. Why doesn't that 2010 Taurus cost $11K? That's what I would expect as a company like a Ford is so much leaner now and cut out all that unnecessary fat.