美国国家公共电台 NPR--Exploring the many reasons why car prices remain high

Exploring the many reasons why car prices remain high

Transcript¹

Why are car prices still so much higher than they were before the pandemic? The average cost of a new vehicle tops $48,000.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The auto² market has been deeply weird³ for almost three years now. Some parts of it are getting more normal. Like, dealer⁴ lots aren't empty anymore. But when it comes to prices, NPR's Camila Domonoske has found that normal is still nowhere in sight.

CAMILA DOMONOSKE, BYLINE⁵: Noah and India Grabisch checked out a fully⁶ loaded Chevy Suburban⁷ at a recent auto show.

NOAH GRABISCH: Suburban was 86,000.

INDIA GRABISCH: Yeah.

DOMONOSKE: They have a 4-year-old son and another baby on the way, so they want a bigger vehicle. But yes, he just said $86,000.

I GRABISCH: It looks nice, but we don't need all that space. But it's really nice. But for 86?

N GRABISCH: Yeah.

I GRABISCH: No.

DOMONOSKE: Yeah, no sums up how a lot of Americans feel about car prices these days. The average new vehicle is just under $49,000. That's actually down a bit from the previous month, but it's much, much higher than pre-pandemic. And used cars - wholesale⁸ prices were getting better last year, but now they're rising again. Ed Kim is the chief analyst⁹ of AutoPacific, and he says, brace¹⁰ yourself.

ED KIM: I think for at least a few more years to come, you know, we're going to see quite a bit of pain in the used car space as far as affordability¹¹.

DOMONOSKE: To understand why prices are still so high, first consider all the cars and trucks that weren't made over the last three years, every production line that shut down for a lack of computer chips or another supply chain snarl¹². And then when automakers did sell vehicles, they focused on their most profitable ones, which are big, expensive, top of the line. Think, you know, an $86,000 SUV. Smaller, cheaper, more ordinary vehicles...

KIM: These sorts of entry-level vehicles have been leaving the market at a very surprising rate as automakers focus on these higher-margin, higher-profit vehicles.

DOMONOSKE: American cars have been getting bigger since well before the pandemic, but the disappearance¹³ of the cheap end of the market accelerated sharply as supply chain woes¹⁴ kicked in. So today, if you're looking for a really nice car, you've got options. But in the budget category, not so much. There's a nonprofit, On The Road Lending, that provides loans to working families to buy vehicles, reasonably priced vehicles that are still under warranty¹⁵. Think a modest 2-year-old sedan without too many miles on it. The kind of car they want to help people buy hasn't changed, but the prices have definitely changed. Michelle Corson is the founder¹⁶ and CEO.

MICHELLE CORSON: Our average loan amount 10 years ago was $13,000, and today it's $24,000. I mean, that's a really big jump in a 10-year period.

DOMONOSKE: And of course, everyone's big question is what's next? Some automakers say they want to make more affordable¹⁷ vehicles. They know there's a market that would buy them. But on the other hand, they are making a lot more money off the pricey ones. Here's analyst Ed Kim again.

KIM: We're not really expecting to see, you know, this resurgence¹⁸ of inexpensive gasoline-powered vehicles.

DOMONOSKE: And that's because all this cash carmakers are getting - it's going toward making cheaper electric vehicles. So Kim says more affordable rides are on the way, but they'll be powered by batteries, and they'll take a while to get here.

Camila Domonoske, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

4 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

8 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

9 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

10 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

11 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

12 snarl   

v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮

参考例句：

• At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。
• The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。

13 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

14 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

15 warranty   

n.担保书，证书，保单

参考例句：

• This warranty is good for one year after the date of the purchase of the product.本保证书自购置此产品之日起有效期为一年。
• As your guarantor,we have signed a warranty to the bank.作为你们的担保人，我们已经向银行开出了担保书。

16 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

17 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

18 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。