U.S Treasury Secretary Bessent: "Access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American dream"

[Benjamin Frank 2.0]

Will the Republicans on this board now start referring to the Trump Administration as elitist?

[Voice of low info America]

What's wrong with eating cake?

[インターネット掲示板ユーザー Punxsutawney Phil]

Depends on the "good". Cheap cars? Yeah, okay, you might have a point, we don't go around in Yugos. Oil? Different story...

[Duke 🇺🇸]

At least they’re finally admitting they never had a plan to bring prices down. But we all knew that already

[Averroës]

Wow, we finally have a Republican health care plan.

[Proud Family Values]

I can't hear him as he stuffs the caviar in his mouth.

[K.W.R.A.E. 8647]

[Stranger in a strange land]

Depends on the "good". Cheap cars? Yeah, okay, you might have a point, we don't go around in Yugos. Oil? Different story...

That's taking it to an extreme that nobody actually does in reality. Hyundai and Kia have been able to carve out a niche in the U.S. market by selling cars that are cheap but that nobody associates with reliability or high quality.

But yeah our economy runs on cheap goods, which is how Walmart was able to essentially conquer the retail sector until it started getting squeezed out in poorer areas by Dollar Tree and Family Dollar. I bet a lot of regular patrons of the latter two stores never voted prior to 2024 and showed up to vote for Trump because they liked him on a podcast or got impacted by fearmongering about trans people and illegal immigrants in their family WhatsApp group.

[Averroës]

Nobody associates Hyundai wand Kia with quality... except for savvy, price-sensitive consumers. Hyundai and Kia regularly outscore every domestic auto manufacturer in Consumer Report's brand index and come with a much better warranty.

Unfortunate business with the "Kia boys," but if you're regularly parking in the kind of place where that happens, you should be using a steering wheel lock like "the Club" (~$50 retail), regardless of what you're driving.

In any event, as far as I'm aware, this statement is the biggest misunderstanding of Trump's base ever uttered in public by any member of either of his administrations.

[Sir Mohamed]

Imagine how crazy the MSM would have gone, if Biden or Yellen said this. "Dems have become so elitist and out of touch with ordinary Americans, no wonder they are losing all over the place."

[インターネット掲示板ユーザー Punxsutawney Phil]

Imagine how crazy the MSM would have gone, if Biden or Yellen said this. "Dems have become so elitist and out of touch with ordinary Americans, no wonder they are losing all over the place."

The narrative matters more than actual reality. The latter is the serf of the former.

[CheapDollarEra?]

Depends on the "good". Cheap cars? Yeah, okay, you might have a point, we don't go around in Yugos. Oil? Different story...

Is any chinese car brand beng sold in the US?
Those chnese cars are popular in Peru, even if people with enought means prefer other brands.

[Averroës]

Depends on the "good". Cheap cars? Yeah, okay, you might have a point, we don't go around in Yugos. Oil? Different story...

Is any chinese car brand beng sold in the US?
Those chnese cars are popular in Peru, even if people with enought means prefer other brands.

Tariffs and regulatory hurdles stand in the way. They're also not eligible for the lavish subsidies that other EVs get here. (Despite this, they would be cheaper even without them.)

Poor people in the US struggle to afford cars, let alone EVs, but our leaders don't care about them.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Nobody associates Hyundai wand Kia with quality... except for savvy, price-sensitive consumers. Hyundai and Kia regularly outscore every domestic auto manufacturer in Consumer Report's brand index and come with a much better warranty.

Unfortunate business with the "Kia boys," but if you're regularly parking in the kind of place where that happens, you should be using a steering wheel lock like "the Club" (~$50 retail), regardless of what you're driving.

In any event, as far as I'm aware, this statement is the biggest misunderstanding of Trump's base ever uttered in public by any member of either of his administrations.

My wife has a Kia Optima.  The car is nice, comfortable, gets good gas mileage, and has been rock-solid dependable.  The manufacturer also provided a no-cost software upgrade to fix the theft vulnerability.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Depends on the "good". Cheap cars? Yeah, okay, you might have a point, we don't go around in Yugos. Oil? Different story...

Is any chinese car brand beng sold in the US?
Those chnese cars are popular in Peru, even if people with enought means prefer other brands.

No - I've been hearing Chinese cars are 2-3 years away from entering the US market for over 20 years now, but no Chinese-brand vehicles are currently for sale in the U.S., though some Chinese-manufactured cars from Buick and Volvo are. Entering the U.S. market is very, very hard for a foreign manufacturer, and it's generally thought this will be even harder than usual for Chinese manufacturers, since "Made in China" still isn't exactly synonymous with high quality: the Yugo debacle has already been mentioned in this thread, and it took Hyundai and Kia years to gain a foothold. There's also a long list of foreign brands who gave up (like Suzuki) or who have established a presence but are treading water and aren't very popular (like Mitsubishi or in recent years Nissan).

[Benjamin Frank 2.0]

One thing in regards to automobiles in this case with tariffs. There is every reason to believe that competition drives quality. The 1970s was the last era of high tariffs and U.S automobiles didn't really face a lot of competition in the U.S until the late 1970s except for at the high end with the German automobiles. American cars in the 1970s were generally referred to (by Americans) as 'rust buckets.'

[wbrocks67]

tell that to President Kamala Harris

[Progressive Pessimist]

At least they’re finally admitting they never had a plan to bring prices down. But we all knew that already

"We all" unfortunately just meant 75 million of us, which wasn't enough.

What's wrong with eating cake?

Cake is actually expensive. We're lucky to afford Twinkies.

[DrScholl]

Meanwhile they are stealing all they can from taxpayers.

[dead0man]

Depends on the "good". Cheap cars? Yeah, okay, you might have a point, we don't go around in Yugos. Oil? Different story...

That's taking it to an extreme that nobody actually does in reality. Hyundai and Kia have been able to carve out a niche in the U.S. market by selling cars that are cheap but that nobody associates with reliability or high quality.

you misspelled "Nissan and Dodge".  Hyundai, and especially Kia, make perfectly fine and reliable cars.  Early Hyundais were hot garbage, but they've improved a lot.

[Adjective-Statement]

The cost of living crisis is bipartisan ✨

[Virginiá]

you misspelled "Nissan and Dodge".  Hyundai, and especially Kia, make perfectly fine and reliable cars.  Early Hyundais were hot garbage, but they've improved a lot.

Most of the cars I've ever owned were Hyundai or Kia, including both the new cars I got over the last 7 years. Super reliable IMO. The interior is a bit plastic-y, but I bought them knowing that. They aren't meant to be high-end, although the tech feature-to-money ratio is really good for Hyundai.

[ponderosa peen 🌲]

Hyundai gang rise up. I bought a new Elantra in 2020 when the price of rental cars was through the roof and dealers were generous with financing as they tried to move product. I've been happy with it. They've typically covered my maintenance and also installed a security upgrade for free.

My grandfather worked at Ford for decades so I've driven Fords all my life. But they're more interested in making trucks these days. Very sad - I'm sure if my grandfather was alive he would understand why I made the choice I did.

[Ferguson97]

Seconding the Hyundai Elantra, I just bought a 2023 and love it.

[Mr. Smith]

Unfortunately not wrong. Pretty obvious the dream is to get expensive goods [or at least expensive feeling] for peanuts and flaunt it, if all the social media is anything to go by.