When I was growing up in the 1970s I always wanted a Rolls-Royce Corniche. Back then it cost nearly £32,000. I thought I'd be a millionairebefore I was thirty, so that was no problem. Things didn't turn out quite like that.
The most expensive British car of the 70s was another Roller, the 1979 Rolls-Royce Camargue, which had a list price of £56,756 [in today's money £220,000].
Today's top cars sell for millions of dollars. It is an indicator of the growing divide between the super-rich and the rest of us.
At the other end of the scale, a 1970 Fiat 500D sold for £498 [or £5,500 in today's money]. Cheap cars were also much cheaper than today.
Inflation was a huge problem in the 1970s. At the beginning of the decade a basic Ford Cortina 1300 cost £914. By the end of the decade the Cortina 1300L wasthe cheapest in the range. It cost more than double the price of the 1970's car, at £1,979.
Cars at the top end of the market went up spectacularly. A 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow cost £9,925. In 1979, the Silver Shadow II cost £39,219; a four-fold increase.
In cash terms, used cars held their price in the 1970s. They could go up in value as the purchasing power of money declined.
A 1974 Morgan 4/4 cost £1931, but in 1976 the same car in first class condition was worth £2,300. The famous waiting list kept prices high. More mundane carsheld their value too. A 1973 Morris Marina cost £1090. In 1976 the same car in top condition was worth £1,130. So who says cars aren't a good investment?
Another car which was a good investment was the VW Beetle. Volkswagen introduced the Golf in 1974. The Beetle's days were numbered. In 1976 they were able to chargea premium over the Golf for the Beetle. Older Beetles sold for around their new price, provided the owner maintained them in first class condition.
This table shows a range of well-known cars and their prices in 1976.
By 1970, it took less than 36 percent–or 18.7 weeks–of the family's annual income of $9,867 to buy a new car priced at $3,542. The percentage holds for a decade later. In 1980, median family income had more than doubled, to $21,023, and average car prices had risen to $7,574.
The average cost of a 1978 car is a whopping $5,780, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association. On the surface, it would appear that many prospective buyers couldn't afford a new car this year. In the fall of 1970, the average new car only cost $3,430.
Cars: In 1960, the average cost of a new car was approximately $2,600, while today it's above $30,000. Groceries: The price of chicken was around $. 29 per pound in the 1960s and costs approximately $1.54 per pound today.
GM ultimately rolled its increase back to 9.5 percent. So from an average transaction price of $3,742 in 1971, the price of a new car had jumped to $4,950 by 1975 - a 32 percent increase in four years.
So not much has changed there. A fresh set of wheels varies depending on the make and model, but a Chevrolet in the 1920s cost $525–which is about $6,790.30 today. Wouldn't it be nice to own a new car for that price in 2020? "Fill 'er up!" A gallon of gas cost 30 cents in 1920.
After a year of supply shortages and climbing borrowing costs, 2024 is shaping up to be a better time to buy a car. The average transaction price for a new car in the U.S. in February was $47,244, down 2.2% from February 2023.
Is now a good time to buy a new car, or is it a good time to sell? We will address these pressing questions and more. According to recent data from Cox Automotive, the average transaction price for new cars is $48,759, a marginal increase from the previous month's $48,247.
The statistic represents the average price of new and used passenger cars sold and leased in the United States between 1990 and 2010. In 2000, a new vehicle had an average price of 21,850 U.S. dollars.
The six-window sedans had a curved rear window, like the coupe, while the four-window sedans were known as “flattops” with a rear drip-rail and wraparound rear window. Series 62s were the most affordable Cadillac at $4,800 to $5,400, and the model was a sales leader for the division at nearly 71,000.
Chris StephensThe average price of a 1-pound loaf of white bread has increased from 88 cents in August 1999 to $1.38 this past August. $1.31: You need $1.31 today to buy what cost $1 back in 1999, according to the federal government's Consumer Price Index.
Cars of the '70s tended to be underpowered and beset by driveability issues as automakers tried, and too often failed, to build smaller, more fuel efficient cars that didn't pollute like a 19th century coal-fired factory.
By 1920 there were 7.5 million cars and trucks in the United States. The automobile industy was promoting the building of highways and the use of automobiles was beginning to have an affect on railroads.
By 1920, there were over 8 million registrations. The 1920s saw tremendous growth in automobile ownership, with the number of registered drivers almost tripling to 23 million by the end of the decade.
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