You Americans are lucky

[Kimsey47]

Lived in England for about 8 years... WAS GLAD to get out of there due to all the taxes the Brits/Europeans have to pay. I completely understood why people risked their lives and their families lives to get on boats and get away from that non-sense.

[FRiSson]

Originally Posted by DylanFRS

You guys think of the conversion rate all wrong. The conversion rate of Dollars to Euros is ~1.3. But that doesn't dictate the value of items when comparing between countries. Someone that makes $50k a year in the US would also probably make about 50k Euros or more for a similar job in the EU rather than 38k Euros that you would expect based on the conversion. A Big Mac may cost $2 here but it will probably cost 2 Pounds in London. The doesn't mean that people in London actually pay twice as much for a Big Mac.

In other words, the conversion rate only works for taking money from one currency to another currency but does nothing to show the actual value of products. Thus saying that one country gets the car for "cheaper" is not really true.

That's the concept behind "Purchasing Power Parity" or PPI. The idea is to measure the relative value of currencies by looking at the actual cost of buying a conceptual "basket of goods". The Economist used to run a regular column looking at the PPI of many countries. I don't know if they still do. The PPI usually showed that US consumers often paid less for a given basket of goods in both actual and comparative terms. However, Europeans more taxes on consumption than the US does. In return they get better services and more entitlements. So, for example in Holland, they pay more for gas and food, but they get better non-auto transportation infrastructure and a very high quality of life. Different priorities, different cost structures. In the US corn syrup and beef are subsidized, in Europe it is local agriculture and produce. Again, these reflect national priorities. Other believe that it doesnt really reflect priorities, but instead the stronger relative power of corporations (e.g. McDonalds, Monsanto, ConAgra) in our electoral system, vs Europe where the power is tilted more to small farmers and non-profit sectors.

[utekineir]

Originally Posted by tacoss23

The result more often than not, is them having to work "few years" after school, therefore postponing college and setting themselves in a course of a mediocre american life.

Please sir, refer to it as the american dream.




And please don't tell me you support the fast food workers striking for $15/hr. I agree minimum wage is not a living wage. When you figure minimum wage 40 hours a week after taxes and expenses related to working (transportation etc) a person basically does better collecting disability. Regardless only one thing will happen if they have their way and hit "15".

The hordes of liberal arts degree holders pouring coffee will now be flipping burgers.

Which means, maybe they can get my fucking snack wrap at mcdonalds right more than half the time. I mean shit, the only variation is which bottle of sauce to grab and they cant even do that right on a regular basis.

[GT86meMR2]

Americans get the car really cheap and some still think it's to expensive :p but the GT86 is not to expensive here.. it's correctly priced compared to the other cars you can get here for around 30K it's equipped very good for it's price 2 over here it's not even slow here because 90% of the cars on the road are slower here :p we don't have soccer moms driving V8's and turbo V6's here

[LeeMaster]

Hey op, if it makes you feel any better, a BRZ in singapore is = $130,000 USD

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf7A5j2QO5E"]Hollywood stars shocked by Singapore car prices (Fast & Furious 6) - YouTube[/ame]

[Efferalgan]

USA is consumer paradise for sure. Cars is one, very illustrative, example but not the only one. Everything's cheap in America I'd say FR-S (or better use BRZ as the basis of comparison as it is equipped similarly to the JDM/EUDM GT86) is not very cheap in the US where for similar money you could buy 300hp muscle cars. In Russia for example a base Camaro (which is cheaper than a BRZ in the US I believe) costs 35% more than a fully loaded GT86. And a V8 version is 75% more expensive than a GT86. RAM 1500 is a luxury car for fans here as the cheapest you can get (import from the US - not officially sold in Europe) starts from $70k

So, I'm glad I got my GT86 for $48k despite it's still more expensive than a mid-spec BMW 320i X-drive here.

Originally Posted by Wyllliam

...I'm perfectly capable to operate the windshield wipers and the lights and i don't mind turning a key to stat the engine.

Are you saying you got automatic wipers on a GT86?

[504]

I think an important point to make here is that there is more to "expensive" than just the upfront price tag. Average income in Australia is nearly double that of America and economies of scale play a big part in deciding what is expensive and what isn't.

[Steve201brz]

Originally Posted by utekineir

Which means, maybe they can get my fucking snack wrap at mcdonalds right more than half the time. I mean shit, the only variation is which bottle of sauce to grab and they cant even do that right on a regular basis.

ill drink to that one. another topic for another thread, however lol.

100,000$ in some places? wow. guessin it has to do with the high population/lack of space on the streets etc. really easy to forget how things are around the rest of the world. this is one of the best priced cars in america and its worth more than someone's house in other countrys (not literally). i get the whole exchange rate/actual value, just kinda crazy when everythings put into perspective

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by DaJo

Keep in mind that the GT86 has a lot of the same features as the BRZ Limited if not more...

Thank goodness for Scion! My base model FR-S already has way too much fanciness as it is. I can't imagine wanting more.

[strat61caster]

Hours needed to work on a Belgium minimum wage to afford GT86 there: 3195
(assuming 30k price point in OP, 40 hour work week and Belgium minimum wage which translates to 9.39 Euro/hour, yes this does not include many other factors)
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_wages_by_country"]List of minimum wages by country - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Hours needed to work on a USA minimum wage to afford FRS: 3484
(assuming $25.255k, $7.25/hour, again, not including many other factors)

I saw this when Australians were bitching about how their video games are about $100 and how it's not fair that in America they're only $60. There's a lot of unseen economic factors besides conversion rates. Enjoy your freedom to pursue education, not fear hospital visits and buy sports cars with less effort than us here in the Americas.

:happy0180:

Edit: and no matter what those 16 year olds say, they're getting a serious leg up from their parents even if they saved up the money and made the downpayment for themselves, who fed them? who got them to school? helped them get a job? not to mention the kids that are just plain spoiled which is a universal phenomenon.

[thill]

Yeah, 16 year olds working part time minimum wage jobs are not going to be able to afford this car. And contrary to popular belief, most mom and dads are not going to be able to buy this car either for their kids.

The medium household income in the US is about $50K per year.

[CAMBAM_6]

Also keep in mind that 76 cents in EUROS = 1 U.S. Dollar..your money is worth more so that can be another factor

[WolfpackS2k]

Always fun to see Europeans complaining about how expensive it is over there. Maybe try putting your foot down collectively and try to roll back your socialist governments' power a bit?

[Wyllliam]

Originally Posted by Efferalgan

USA is consumer paradise for sure. Cars is one, very illustrative, example but not the only one. Everything's cheap in America I'd say FR-S (or better use BRZ as the basis of comparison as it is equipped similarly to the JDM/EUDM GT86) is not very cheap in the US where for similar money you could buy 300hp muscle cars. In Russia for example a base Camaro (which is cheaper than a BRZ in the US I believe) costs 35% more than a fully loaded GT86. And a V8 version is 75% more expensive than a GT86. RAM 1500 is a luxury car for fans here as the cheapest you can get (import from the US - not officially sold in Europe) starts from $70k

So, I'm glad I got my GT86 for $48k despite it's still more expensive than a mid-spec BMW 320i X-drive here.


Are you saying you got automatic wipers on a GT86?

Yep, the Gt 86 in Belgium comes with automatic wipers and lights