The last car I bought cost just less than $12k USD new ( on the road including all taxes and fees) around 5 years ago.
I know inflation's been high, but not it's not been that high.
The article is specifically about the price increase in the last 6 years.
My point is that six years ago the cheapest new cars cost less, in many cases a lot less, than $25k. The article itself lists several examples.