Comment by mech998877
3 days ago
The tata nano is an example of a low-featured car that sold in India for the equivalent of $2500 in 2008 dollars. You can make a car for pretty cheap if you strip down a lot of the hardware. I think one of the reasons new cars are designed/priced the way they are in the US is that the more frugal buyers always end up buying a used car anyway, so the manufacturers don't target the low end of the market.
I agree with your broader point though.
I checked the Wikipedia page. It said there was a $2000 promotional price at launch but only a few people got it.
The real price in 2017 was $3400, which is $4500 in today's dollars.
The safety ratings and crash test results were also dire.