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I come from the UK but have lived in America to I will try to explain a few things.
First household incomes is not a fair comparison. In Europe a lot of families only have one person working full time and we get a lot of vacation time. I personally am an Electronics Hardware engineer with 6 years experience and get 39 days full paid time off including public holidays. This extra holiday lower the annual salary as they are an expense none the less.
Also cost of living is different. In the UK food is cheap but anything else is 20% taxed but we have the NHS which as much as we may complain is relatively cheap. A regular family can pay $1000/month health insurance and still have to pay more when you cut your finger and need to visit ER.
Income tax is different too. My wife was earning as a nurse in Colorado and was taking home less than me on a similar salary in the UK at the time. She was paying $360/month heath insurance and it was basic cover too. She was slim, young and didn't smoke.
Now on to the gt86. Firstly the base model is still higher spec than the Scion FRS. It still has Fog lights, nice chrome exhaust tips, folding mirrors , 6 inch touch screen media, nice soft touch bits for you legs and shoulder...... I am sure there is more but that was first glance.
The prices you see in the UK are "drive it out of the door" prices including 3 days of motor insurance. The main killer is the 20% TAX. Deduct the tax and delivery/registration/road tax and the base car is about £18k ($27k)....
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