by Wolf Richter
Wolf Street
And I mean, not just by a little. The F150 XLT & Camry LE are at it again. My annual brain-twisting stunner.
Toyota finally released the MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) of its 2021 Camry LE, after releasing prices of higher-end Camrys a while ago. Ford released the MSRP of its 2021 F-150 XLT in October. The Camry has been the best-selling car in the US. The F-Series has been the best-selling truck, as well as the best-selling automobile of any kind in the US. Both models go back beyond 1990, and there are not many models that have been continuously produced since 1990.
They form the WOLF STREET “Pickup Truck & Car Price Index.” It’s not seasonally adjusted, and it’s free of “hedonic quality adjustments” and other methods that the government uses infamously to lower its “Consumer Price Index for New Vehicles.” It reflects price changes of the same model over the years, in their purest form. And when juxtaposed to the official CPI for New Vehicles, it turns into my annual brain-twisting stunner.