Automobiles have been around in America for well over one hundred years, and the assembly of such, has never been more efficient than the cars that are produced today, but whereas back in 1923, Ford's most popular Model T with the self starter and demountable rims sold for $393, or the equivalency of $5626 in 2017 dollars, of which there was nearly 800,000 of them manufactured in 1923, there aren't any brand new cars at that price point in America, today.
Of course, one could easily argue, that today's cars are far superior to what was produced back in Henry Ford's era, in addition to the fact that they are safer, faster, more durable, and are subject to various governmental rules and regulations which all contribute to their greater price. While that may indeed be true, it does miss the most important point of all, which is back at the inception of cars being specifically manufactured for the masses; they were also specifically structured in pricing and performance in such a manner that good working people of modest means could actually afford them.
In today's world, as reported by cnn.com, "a record 107 million Americans have auto loan debt," in addition, "there are 6 million people who are 90 days or more behind on their car payments," whereas back in the heyday of Ford motor, it was a specific policy of Henry Ford, to mass produce cars that were affordable. While quite obviously this necessitated those cars all being of the same color, same components, and same design, the obvious advantage of this sort of production simplicity, was the cost savings that were therefore passed onto the consumers of such.
Somehow, over the years, perhaps because America has become wealthier, perhaps because nobody really wants to buy a "bare bones" car, or perhaps because of advertising or keeping up with the Joneses, the perceived desire for cheap and affordable cars does not seem to exist, yet there seems to be a need for those affordable cars to exist. Overall, this is a great shame, for never have so many been so indebted for so much money in order to buy vehicular transportation.
It would seem that all things being equal, that the capacity and the ability to actually manufacture and to produce brand new affordable cars, is still within the capability of the United States, or certainly within the capability of foreign nations, that could thereby export them to the United States, especially if that was an actual desire or goal as defined by public policy, and, if necessary, tax credits or tax set asides could be created in order to encourage this activity.
That said, it doesn't seem that an affordable car is an objective that the United States as a nation so desires to pursue, but it should be, for there are a great deal of people, that do not have the funds in hand to actually purchase the cars that they buy, in which, lacking that ready capital, they instead purchase their vehicles through financing, of which, such financing adds to the overall cost of the vehicle, and because personal budgets are already stretched to the limit, any unforeseen little event, means the failure to keep current on payments, leading to the possible repossession of the vehicle.
The purchase of an automobile is a big monetary purchase, of which, for some people, it is their biggest purchase that they will ever make, so it would seem that, it would be in the best interests of this great nation to take into consideration the value of having affordable vehicles for those that are already financially struggling day by day.