The year was 2016, and the U.S. auto industry was in a very different place.
Your social media feed is probably full of nostalgic posts yearning for the yesterday of a decade ago. And if you’re in the market for a new car these days, you might also be looking back fondly on 2016.
The average price of a new car then was just over $34,000. Now it tops $50,000. The best selling vehicle then was a Ford pick up truck. The best selling vehicle today is still a Ford pick up truck.
With all of that in mind, the USA TODAY Cars team took a look at the some of the key auto industry statistics for 2016 and compared them to today.
The average new car price in January 2016 was $34,112, according to Kelley Blue Book.
These were the average price for some of the top manufacturers at that time:
In case you missed it: An average new car cost a record $50,326 in December. Here’s why
The best selling vehicle in 2016 was the Ford F-Series pick up, according to the Cars.com website. Here’s the top 10 best sellers for 2016:
Car shoppers paid a record average of $50,326 for new cars in December 2025, according to Kelley Blue Book. The average December price for new cars was up 0.8% over November’s average of $49,814, according to the group. 
The best selling car in 2025 was still the Ford F-Series, with 828,832 vehicles sold.
The average price of a three-year old used car in the third quarter of 2025 was $31,067, according to Edmunds. The average used car in 2016 was $19,189, according to the group.
Also in the third quarter of 2025, the average new car payment was $748, and the average payment for a used car was $532, according to Experian. The average new car payment in 2016 was $506, according to the group.

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