1998–2002 Average New Car Expenditures

Consumer outlay for new domestic cars continues to rise, while imports slightly declined in 2002. Listed below are the consumer expenditures for domestic and import cars for 1998 through 2002. These expenditures do not include items such as taxes, destination charges, dealer costs, etc. The “average” figures are a weighted measure based on the number of vehicles sold and other factors. The change column indicates the percentage change from the previous year.

Source: Ward’s Motor Vehicle Facts & Figures 2003

According to Consumer Reports ratings for 2000 models, based on responses from readers on 480,000 vehicles ranging from model years 1995–2000, the vehicles with the least number of problems per 100 vehicles were: • Acura (21) • Toyota (25) • Lexus (25) • Honda (32) • Mazda (34) (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 3/11/03)