With regard to Prep 26, section 3, # 24, Forum

[soyeonjeon]

With regard to Prep 26, section 3, # 24,
I don't quite get this. I find it hard to spot the weak points from the stimulus to begin with.
also,
Can someone help me understand why A is not the answer?

[CyanIdes Of March]

I really had a hard time with this one as well. It seems that E is right because the total new car sales could have increased in other markets (Companies, family, etc) and the lower end price range for individuals did not. I think A is out of scope.

[KaplanLSATInstructor]

The previous poster is right about the first part. The argument tries to say that INDIVIDUALS are paying more per car in relation to their income. However, the first piece of evidence is that the average price paid has gone up -- but who's paying those higher prices? The author is assuming that INDIVIDUALS are. However, as the previous poster said, if the higher-priced sales are sold to companies or groups, then individuals can continue to pay the same price. That's why (E) works -- it suggests that companies and groups are buying a bigger proportion of cars, which offers an alternate reason why the price to wage ratio has gone up.

As for (A), it doesn't matter if individuals are living in households with multiple wage owners. The argument is still about people who buy cars individually and the price relative to their INDIVIDUAL wages. Even if they're living with other wage-earners, that doesn't have any bearing on the statistics.

It's definitely a little confusing. I hope this helps.

- Chris