Sigh... Some people just want justification for being miserablee, I guess.
Car prices are up in recent years, due in large part to the struggling automotive industry. The auto makers have painted themselves into a corner by promising the unions they would support workers for their entire retirments. Now the makers find themselves forced to spend some $3,500 to $4,500 of the price of each new care to support the retirement obligations to workers that aren't even making new cars any longer. This cost doesn't contribute to the quality of their cars, but it does dramatically increase the price of the vehicles. It influences inflation numbers, because it's an increase in the price of the final product, but it isn't accurate to say that it represents a decrease in the value of the dollar. You pay more, but that's not because your dollar is worth less. It's because you're buying more: you're buying a car AND a share in the UAW workers' retirement plan, not just a car as you would have in years past.
Further, the marketing strategy for selling new cars has changed dramatically over the past decade. Retail prices for new cars are arbitrarily inflated, which tends to make them look more valuable and attractive to purchasers. New vehicles are purchased almost exclusively on credit these days. The inflated prices are either credited back to the purchaser in the form of rebates and attractive finance terms, or are retained by the dealer.
For example:
Start with your basic car with $15,000 of "quality" built into it, then and add in the $4,000 of UAW welfare state costs. You car is costs $19,000 to bring to market. Jack the retail price up by $10,000 and give the car a sticker price of $29,000. Offer a $4,000 rebate and "free" financing incentives worth $2,, then go ape-*expletive deleted*it with your marketing plan so that everyone knows they can get a $29,000 car for only $23,000. The dealer or the manufacturer can pocket that last $4,, which the average semi-literate consumer is too stupid to know he's paying.
The net result is that a car with $15,000 worth of quality inside is sold for $23,000. That $8,000 difference in price amounts to an apparent inflation on the order of 30%. But is that really inflation? Does that really represent a loss in purchasing power of the dollar? Or is it simply a result of a poor business management and a good dose of consumer stupidity?