"H.J." wrote in message
...
You can rent a Ferrari for $200 PER DAY.

Really? Where? Around here, all you can get for (about) $200 is a Boxster
or a C5 Corvette. The local "exotic" rental place doesn't have a Ferrari
anymore, but if I recall, when they did it was more like $500/day or so.

Has anybody ever rented a C-172 for $200 per day?

Again, comparing to the exotic rental around here, there are a lot more
restrictions with the cars. A 100-200 mile/day limit is common, as is a
requirement to remain in this state. The local shop includes only 75 miles
in the daily rate, and for a Ferrari (if they still had it) would charge
$1/mile for additional mileage. I'd be hard-pressed to spend $200 using a
C172 within those restrictions.

A ferrari has more horsepower, higher Vne, and is more
complex.

And requires far less training in order to use, creating a much larger
market.

So, Why can't a new generic-ish plane sell for $25,000? and rent for $60
per
day?

Haven't you been reading this thread?

Maybe it is an economy-of-scale issue, but if a plane sold for a more
reasonable price, half the guys in town would get one and then there'd be
no
economy-of-scale problem, right?

"Half the guys in town" wouldn't be able to fly one. It takes a particular
commitment and motivation to learn to fly a plane. Even if aviation were
less expensive, you wouldn't have 100 million (or so) pilots in the U.S.

Beyond that, there may be a bit of the chicken/egg thing going on, but there
are lots of other reasons why aviation is expensive too. It's just not true
that, if overnight you could reduce the price point of 4-seater piston
aviation to match that of a typical family sedan, there'd be no
economy-of-scale problem.

Pete