Call it inflation, or supply chain issues, or the way it is, but buying a car these days is like looking for a new home.  Check out this report at Fortune:

The average monthly payment for a new car has soared to a record $777, nearly doubling from late 2019, according to Kelley Blue Book owner Cox Automotive. That's almost a sixth of the median after-tax income for US households. Even used models have climbed to $544 a month on average. 

The sticker shock extends well beyond the US, where inflation is a thorny a political issue for President Joe Biden as the 2024 election looms. In Europe, prices are flirting with records. Used-car prices soared in Japan last year, and in China, a rapid push to electric vehicles means consumers will have to pay more in some cities.

At the root of the problem is automakers' new mantra: Keep inventory lean and price tags fat. Three years after the pandemic triggered a global shortage of semiconductor chips and crippled car manufacturing, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and their overseas rivals are notching big profits. Even as the chip crunch shows signs of easing, they're pledging to keep production in check. 

And because electric vehicles cost about 25% more than the average car, the shift to plug-ins is about to make the affordability crisis even worse. Add soaring interest rates to the mix, and new cars — like home ownership and a college education — are fast becoming the domain of the rich. 

"The idea of a new car in every American's driveway is not the world we live in," said Charlie Chesbrough, a senior economist at Cox.

For sure, it is a challenge.  Here in Texas, the challenge is that you don't have a lot of mass transit options.  Furthermore, Texans, among many others, like their big trucks.  Wonder what the average loan payments is for one of those beauties?

Add higher gasoline prices, and you have a mess.  My friend George in South Texas spends over a hundred dollars to keep his truck full.

Not surprisingly, "Americans Are Struggling to Pay Car Loans."  In fact, you have to go back 15 years, to 2008, to see today's delinquencies.

Where are we?  You can't afford a new car, and the used ones fly off the lot.  You can't pay back the car loan.  And the rent for a home or apartment is another tragedy.

Thank God I'm not looking for a car or a new home.

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Image: Public Domain Pictures.