Americans spend the equivalent 80% of their annual paycheck on trucks

The average price of a big yacht is about $1 million.

So Americans spend the equivalent of 2,000% of their annual paychecks on yachts.

Amazing!

I know, it is a common salary on LRC, but I honestly do make over $200k and last year I went to look at Ford trucks. I was going to get one as a third car to use for yard work, carrying bikes and crap on the weekend and when we go to the mountains. I figured I could get one for around $20k. Most at the local Ford dealership were over $50k. I spoke with the guy and he said that the market for cheaper trucks was just fading and that most truck drivers wanted more "options" with their purchase.

I ended up buying one used from a friend and plan on selling it b/c I don't use it as much as I thought I would.

The difference between trucks and yachts is that trucks are more common among the middle-to-lower economic class while yachts are pretty-much limited to only the super wealthy. Apples and oranges.

I spent some time recently on a work project in Brevard, NC. The number of luxury trucks was staggering. Many had significant aftermarket additions (lifts, coal rolling pipes, etc). Not crappy 1995 trucks, mind you. These were new Chevy and Ford trucks that were likely over $60k being driven by guys laying sheet rock on the project I was observing.

X-Runner wrote:

The average price of a big yacht is about $1 million.

So Americans spend the equivalent of 2,000% of their annual paychecks on yachts.

Amazing!

For 2014, Americans bought somewhere in the ballpark of 1.6 million full-size trucks (do the quick math at pickuptrucks.com), give or take.

In order for a "yacht" to cost a million bucks, I'll assume you meant to refer to "superyachts" since yachts can cost relatively little. On this basis, there were exactly 412 superyachts sold in 2014 per boatinternational.com... in the entire world.

The full-size pickup truck is ubiquitous in American culture today. The yacht (or superyacht, as it were) is reserved for the elite. Get the point of the metric now in showing why a $43K truck is a little much for the typical family?

I can not begin to imagine what you would do with a Coal Rolling Pipe.

Is this something they do in coal mining area to crush or pulverize coal with their trucks?

northern city slicker wrote:

I can not begin to imagine what you would do with a Coal Rolling Pipe.

Is this something they do in coal mining area to crush or pulverize coal with their trucks?

Here:

This may be the biggest misapplication of logic/statistics I've seen all week, on a board that is littered with such acts.

I'm just pointing out that your 80% number is garbage.

No one spends 80% of their income on a truck, yet you put that stat in your subject line to make it sound like Americans in general do.

Find the average truck owner's income and recalculate.

And then spread the cost of the truck over the time period that they own the trucks for a comparison.

You are comparing an annual income to a multi-year purchase.

They are not spending $43K a year on trucks.

This 80% number is really going to be less than 10%.

Slim Pickens wrote:

X-Runner wrote:

The average price of a big yacht is about $1 million.

So Americans spend the equivalent of 2,000% of their annual paychecks on yachts.

Amazing!

In order for a "yacht" to cost a million bucks, I'll assume you meant to refer to "superyachts" since yachts can cost relatively little.

No he didn't mean superyachts, he meant a million dollar yacht.

And no, full-size pickups are no more ubiquitous than Mercedes Benz and BMWs in the ghetto. The difference is people who buy pickups can afford them.

Yachtzee wrote:

And no, full-size pickups are no more ubiquitous than Mercedes Benz and BMWs in the ghetto.

You have never been to a ghetto

It's not the trucks as much as the 200+ lb wives, ball-breaking mortgages and two-hour commutes that add up for the guys who get suckered into wage-slavery. By age 50 one foot and three toes are in the grave.

LOL!!! wrote:

Yachtzee wrote:

And no, full-size pickups are no more ubiquitous than Mercedes Benz and BMWs in the ghetto.

You have never been to a ghetto

You can't read. You must be from the ghetto?"

X-Runner wrote:

No one spends 80% of their income on a truck, yet you put that stat in your subject line to make it sound like Americans in general do.

Of course nobody takes 80% of their income and blows it on a truck in one fell swoop. Congrats, Captain Obvious... you win the internets today. Anybody who isn't trolling subject lines just for the fun of being douchey would immediately grasp the concept of my subject line and the point being made.

X-Runner wrote:

You are comparing an annual income to a multi-year purchase.

Indeed I am. Why? Well, because that's how salaries and paychecks are quoted... by the year. And given that most of us here have paychecks as well as a decent idea of how much a car payment represents, it's not difficult to use this rough metric to appreciate the fact that many people spend too much of their income (whether it's over 36, 48, or 60 months) on a fancy truck.

But carry on, by all means.

Yachtzee wrote:

LOL!!! wrote:

You have never been to a ghetto

You can't read. You must be from the ghetto?"

Yes, I can. You haven't been to a ghetto. Pickups are much more common than benz or BMWs. Rap music videos aren't accurate.

LOL!!! wrote:

Yachtzee wrote:

You can't read. You must be from the ghetto?"

Yes, I can. You haven't been to a ghetto. Pickups are much more common than benz or BMWs. Rap music videos aren't accurate.

You're the one who hasn't been anywhere near a ghetto.

I do not think of a 27 foot boat you can pull with a trailer as a yacht but by US Coast Guard definition-there are a large number of definitions too- boats longer than 26 foot are yachts

When I think of the yacht versus big boat thing I go with if you drive it- it is a boat. If the captain of your crew drives it- it is a yacht. I think of yachts as having guest cabins and dining areas.

If your ship is not required to carry a lifeboat onboard it is just a big boat in my book.

yet another rule of thumb- a yachts captain gets annoyed if you refer to his vessel as a boat, but a boats captain does not get annoyed if you refer to his vessel as a yacht.

Yachtzee wrote:

Slim Pickens wrote:

In order for a "yacht" to cost a million bucks, I'll assume you meant to refer to "superyachts" since yachts can cost relatively little.

No he didn't mean superyachts, he meant a million dollar yacht.

And no, full-size pickups are no more ubiquitous than Mercedes Benz and BMWs in the ghetto. The difference is people who buy pickups can afford them.

Most people who have lifted pickups can't afford them. Those trucks exploded on the scene around the housing bubble and a lot are for sale on the side of the road.

Theb $4k pickup is an ok investment for those who work a lot and need a long lasting truck, but for many, it is just another BMW or Benz they can't afford.

Why use such a deceptive tactic to bring up your point?

You could compare the average vehicle purchase to the average income.

Or compare the average truck price to the average income of truck buyers.

Or just say something general like Americans spend a lot on trucks.

But once you put a number in there, the number has mean something.

Your number means nothing.

That's why I used the yacht comparison to show how irrelevant it was.

X-Runner wrote:

Why use such a deceptive tactic to bring up your point?

You could compare the average vehicle purchase to the average income.

Or compare the average truck price to the average income of truck buyers.

Or just say something general like Americans spend a lot on trucks.

But once you put a number in there, the number has mean something.

Your number means nothing.

That's why I used the yacht comparison to show how irrelevant it was.

Did you read the article? Read the article.

This isn't surprising. If I had a dollar for every high-chair truck I see roaring down my street I'd be, well, better off.