To ask in the form of a question, do you think its "normal" to buy a 50K vehicle? If so, can we say that "normal" must include 50% or more of the USA population?
Here goes. First you’d have to define “normal”. Some folks actually find the word to be offensive. The simple point I was attempting to make is that the average price of a new car sold in the US last year was nearly $50K. It’s an average and I believe it to be a fact that cannot rationally be disputed. One person might buy a new car for $25K, another might buy a new car for $200K or more. Buying a $50K car would not be “normal” for either of those people.
Personally, the last 2 new vehicles we bought were both more than $50K and the one we’re getting after we ditch the Jeep is also more than $50K. Additionally, I bought a 1960’s muscle car for just under $50K, so yes, I do consider buying a $50K car to be normal.
As to your 50% question, I would define anything over 50% as most or a majority. Whether or not the behavior of the majority is “normal” is up to the observer’s discretion. The problem with the question in this situation is that 50% of the US population doesn’t buy a new car every year. Sixteen million is less than 5% of the population. It would be interesting to know the number of new cars that sold last year for say, $45K-55K. Perhaps it’s more than 50% of new car sales? That would indicate that most people bought a car for around $50K. And apparently, none of them are plugging them in.
So the only point I was trying to make is that purchase price matters (a bunch). 50K (or more) will exclude many potential buyers based on price alone.
