Driving nearly 7 hours each way on major interstates, I was struck by the fact that nearly every single car dealership we passed in every major metro area we passed through had acres and acres of space but VERY FEW CARS on those acres of pavement.
Not Ford, Not Chevy, Not Dodge, Not Toyota, not Kia ….Not any marque that I saw….all nearly devoid of cars on the lot….No cars. The few that we did see might have been used cars…(Hard to tell as we sped by at highway speeds). But the dearth of cars and truck for sale was obvious.
Yep inventory is still very messed up, cars are being produced and shipped off the line in unfinished states due to lack of chips.
Likely not going to get better in 2022 either and the 2020, 2021, and 2022 year models will likely need to be avoided on the used car market too.
Yep, racked and stacked around the plants, all waiting on chips…
Wouldn’t it bee nice if the automakers were able to manufacture a low cost vehicle without a computer chip? That describes EVERY vehicle produced before 1980 or so. All you would have to give up is vehicle emissions standards and many of the new features. You could have variable windshield wipers but not smart ones, or auto dimming head lights, anti-lock breaks and may others. But you could have a car that would cost a fraction of what they cost today and still be reliable and get 20 MPG and come with AC and a radio!
I know, I’m just a grouchy old bastard,and yeah, I Do appreciate the GPS and a few other niceties that are common, but the car Will go without those things. Seems like we Could have some very affordable and dependable vehicles if they weren’t so loaded with bells and whistles.
What If you were a roofer and you needed a work truck. If they were running carburetor and points instead of injected and computers, well, shazzam! Heck, my 81 Ford van had a module for ignition. So cheap I carried a spare strapped under the hood. The feds have screwed us by demanding fleet mpg performance. Phhht,, it’s all screwed up.