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My FIL is 84 this year and likes to harken back to those days. But then he realizes that he made so little money compared to today that he snaps out of it. It usually happens when he is at the lumber yard with me as he was a contractor.
Cars vs incomes are pretty high nowadays too, but you do get a lot more for that money, even with GM cars :shades:
I wonder if, on average, people's take-home pay was higher, as a percentage of their gross income, in the old days? Maybe that made them feel "richer", if they kept a higher percentage of their earnings.
Heck, even in my time, I've seen what's happened with health insurance. When I first got hired full-time in 1994, my policy was $10 per week. Today, it's $30.28 per week. It would have been about $40-45, but last open season, I opted for a slightly cheaper policy.
And, if I want to retire anytime soon, I have no choice but to contribute to my 401k. In contrast, my grandparents probably couldn't spell 401k! :P They all got pensions. Same with my Mom, Dad, and stepdad. So, that's money coming out of my paycheck that they never had to deal with, although I know Mom did contribute to her gov't thrift savings plan. And, while she had to contribute to her gov't pension, something like 7% I think, she didn't have to contribute to social security.
As for Social security, back in the old days, wasn't the amount you had to contribute a bit smaller? I know we're only contributing 4.2% for 2011-2012, temporarily, and I'm sure it'll go back to 6.2% soon. But, in the past, I think the amount was lower than 6.2%.
I know my grandparents, as well as my parents, carry on about how expensive things are compared to the "good old days". Some of it might just be the old "rose tinted glasses" thing. Heck, I find myself doing it sometimes! For instance, in videogames, I've been hearing for years now, people complaining about these $60-70-80 video games and how that's just too much. And then, I remember for my birthday in 1982, Mom bought me an Intellivision, which she got for around $229 on sale. Games for it were around $30-35, and by that time, prices were coming down! I remember reading that one of the games, Chess, originally cost about 50 bucks! The reason was that the standard ROM chip they used for the cartridges wasn't big enough, so they had to add another 256 bytes to it for the chess game!
I also remember as a kid, saving up and buying a VCR in 1984, which cost around $379+ tax. And my 19" Toshiba color tv, from earlier that year, which was also around $400.
And, to keep it somewhat automotive-related, there was my grandparents' 1982 Malibu Classic Estate wagon, which was $11,000 out the door brand-new. With a vinyl interior, weak 110 hp 229 V-6, an ECU that fried itself twice in 2 1/2 years, and oh, let's not forget the non roll-down windows in the back doors! But, it was a beautiful shade of midnight blue, with fake woodgrain on the sides, and a stand-up hood ornament...so at least we looked classy as that car bucked and sputtered and couldn't get out of its own way, and fried in the back seat because we didn't have a roll-down window on those hot days where Granddad was too cheap to turn on the a/c! :P
IMHO, they felt richer than today because they had simpler lives. They were happy with a 3 BR ranch or cape without granite counters and a spa bath. They went on simple vacations to the shore or mountains. They didn't commute 60 miles a day.
Granted, wages weren't anything like today, either. I remember a college instructor saying to gauge the price of gas by what a gallon of milk and a gallon of laundry bleach costs. By his gauge, gas isn't overpriced...
I think the big difference back then, as compared to today, was that, then, there were limited consumer items available for people to but if they wanted to "keep up with the Jonses"... House, boat, and a car.
Since then, there's been an explosion of consumer items, tons of electronics, etc. and, they all cost $$$.
Also, mass marketing has changed our expectations on what we "should" have .vs. what we thought back then, which was based far more on understanding what we really needed. I would say in the 60-mid-70's, at least in the South, most folks thought a single TV in a house was practical. Finding a house with a single TV nowadays is difficult, I would imagine.
Like air conditioning, no one ever missed it until they had had it for a while...
Healthcare, food, and education have exploded in price compared to wage gains, that gets people pining for the good old days. I suspect overall taxes aren't any better either, unless you are a "high earner" who must be coddled.
An additional factor that contributes to complaints about gas prices is probably the distance that many people travel for fun, and travel for work. I remember my dad travelling 7 miles one-way to work, and we thought he worked way out in the sticks. When I lived in St. Louis a few years ago, my one-way commute was 22 miles (from a suburb to the main city). The suburb I lived in didn't even exist 20 years ago, and neither did many other 'burbs that were that far out, so I suspect the average commute distance & time, especially around larger cities, has increased.
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Look at original IBM PC in 1982. It was priced at $3,000 and relatively crude by today's computer standards. What would $3K 1982 dollars be in 2012 dollars?
No question that today's cars in terms of economy, safety, power, features, handling, etc are a better bargain than cars of 30, 40 years ago. Look at the offerings of GM, such as Vega or Citation of years ago compared to the Cruze or Malibu of today.
A couple different jobs I had a while back were 50-55 miles one way. Pay was good and distance was mostly on Interstate roads, so no concern. Flex time let me avoid most rush hour traffic.
A pack of cigarettes was 45 cents and they'd sell 'em to an eight year-old kid! I remember my Mom or Dad sending me to the store with a 50-cent piece to buy a pack of Tareytons or Vantage and coming home with a nickle change. Yesterday, I saw a guy who was clearly over 21 get carded by the clerk for cigarettes at a convenience store.
According to my handy dandy inflation calculator, $3K in 1982 is equivalent to about $7200 today.
Oh - so about the price of a MAC!!
I remember running into my high school girlfriend's father recently who worked about 1.5 miles from his house his entire working life. He couldn't believe that I commuted 40 miles a day round trip and thought nothing of it.
"JD Power reliability survey 2012- the worst car brands"
Some other surprises in there as well, including one that is currently recieving a lot of "Positives" lately... :surprise:
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f70/gm-reports-highest-monthly-sales-33-month- s-111191/
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The earliest transaction I remember was in 1973, and went like this, at a snack bar at school:
me: How much is an ice cream sandwich?
she: A dime.
me: TEN CENTS!? How much is a fudgesickle?
she: A nickel.
me: I'll have one of those.
Love telling my kids that story. They crack up every time!
I live in a little apartment in an expensive neighborhood, close to work, I am frugal (and single) so I can travel now and then and indulge a hobby or two, and I feel fortunate.
I'll stick to my DC suburbs, even if traffic does suck.
The GM cars were the best and no hint of a ToyHonHyunKia! The rest is history! :sick:
Regards,
OW
Now I get a dime each for Coke cans and bottles. :shades:
They must be biased just like CU..... :P
My wonderful little hometown was negatively affected by NAFTA, too...Greenville Steel Car Co. built railcars there for 80 years, until one year after NAFTA when the parent company moved them to Mexico...where their first orders were so screwed up they had to be rebuilt for the customers.
There is a resurgence in the townsfolk to do something new there, but it's hard without the kind of employers that used to be there...the ones that paid a decent wage.
I don't deny someone their success at all..but at some point reward for success becomes replaced with unmitigated greed, sadly. How any one person can be worth in the millions at a job is a complete mystery to me...especially when they make that much and then leave the company in ruins.
My Dad worked at the Post Office (recently rated 'the most beautiful post office in the U.S.'--not bad for 5,900 people--by a post office fanatic who has visited 1,300 post offices and was featured on NPR last year), and came home for lunch every single day. My grandfather was foreman of pickling at Greenville's Chicago Bridge and Iron plant and walked to work.
No one can tell me that things, overall, in the big picture, are better today than then. I make an excellent living but I sure long for those days in the big scheme of things.
BTW, I remember when single candy bars went from a nickel to a dime, and when Hostess cakes (Twinkies, cupcakes, etc.) went from 12 cents to 13 cents. I was born in 1958.
I sure knew more folks who could, and would, buy a new car every three or four years then, not because they needed one, but because they wanted one, than do now. Because new cars were priced reasonably, generally, and cars tended to hold their original value better than today.
I tried googling pics of UK Chevies though, and it looks like a model called the Chevrolet Orlando.
$0.22 = $1.65 today
$0.05 = $0.38 today
$0.06 = $0.45 today
Guess there is more than inflation affecting today's prices!
Candy bars range from $1.00 to $1.50.
A can of Coke = $1.25.
I guess Big Brother taxes these items well beyond inflation for our own good!
I'd imagine that it's mainly taxes that drove up cigarette prices, but they also have a lot more chemicals and such in them today, that probably makes 'em more expensive to produce. Then, there's probably lawsuit funds and such that drive up the prices.
As for sodas, sometimes I'll find them on sale at the local Giant, Three 12 packs for $11. That comes out to about 31 cents per 12-oz can. Get 'em at BJ's, Costco, etc, and they're even cheaper. But that's at the grocery store, not at a restaurant/drugstore/whatever.
I can't even remember the last time I bought a candy bar. I remember in the early 80's, you could get a 6-pack of Hershey bars for around $1.25-$1.50.
In Motor Trend issue, May 2012, a Buick Regal GS was awarded 8th place out of 8 cars tested..$38,720 4 cyl, turbo, acceleration like a turtle, and drank premium fuel. Sad company..
Yup. That glass is always 2/3 empty! :P
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f13/california-cant-get-enough-chevy-volt-sal- es-surge-111289/
Just a few weeks after General Motors curbed production of Volts, Chevrolet dealers in California are scrambling to get the extended-range electric cars on their lots as sales surge because of special state incentives for electric vehicles and West Coast gas still above $4 a gallon.
"I've had more people talk to me in the last couple months about the Volt than I have in the last year," said Bill Cumming, general manager of Ron Baker Chevrolet in National City, Calif., a San Diego suburb. "Currently, I have none in stock."
U.S. sales of the Volt remain mediocre at best -- just 1,680 in May. But the car is gaining momentum in California, where hybrid and electric car owners are allowed to use carpool lanes no matter how many people are in the car.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Good thing that's a big market (at least while the incentives last, and access to HOV lanes, not to mention Cali gas prices that still average above $4 a gallon).
California can't get enough of the Chevy Volt as sales surge (Detroit News)
Yeah, 0 to 60 in 6.7 seconds. A junker for sure.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
Yeah, the average driver is going to think 0-60 in 6.7 is slow. Next time I'm blasting down North Broad Street at 140 mph in heavy city traffic, doing the slalom on Roosevelt Boulevard, or taking on the hairpin turns on the Schuylkill Expressway, I'll tell you what a lousy car the Regal is.
It was also the heaviest car in the group, heavier even than the AWD Audi A4. It was also the thirstiest. Oh, and the MT testers didn't like some of the chrome inserts and lack of a backup camera. Even though the car stickered at $38+K, they still called it a fairly good value.
Is MT or Car and Driver that always seems to get the best 0-60? They must abuse the car pretty good!
Well here is a surprise, a BMW wins a comparo. How is even fair to compare an upscale car that needs to check every option box to hit near 40K with upper 40-50K cars. Oh, and 50K for a 328? Really? I thought the 335 would hit 50, but not the 28.
It was also the heaviest car in the group
IMHO that is something that Buick needs to work on. My LaCrosse is a bit of a porker, weighing more than some full size cars from years past.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
328i, Infiniti G37, C-class...
Buick's mission for the Regal is cloudy to say the least. Obesity, a lackluster engine lineup, and lack of AWD partners well with their next-to-nil marketing efforts... :sick:
GM has completely dropped the ball with this model and failed to give their so called "Sport Sedan" the reflexes and performance it needs to go up against the class stalwarts. Although, part of the blame should be put on the magazines for making such an absurd comparison, GM wants to claim the Regal as a valid alternative, then they are going to have to work harder to bring their entry up to snuff.
But part of me also believes if they did so, they would risk crowding own their cohorts over at Cadillac who are trying to release their own 3-series wannabe. Which is probably why the Regal has been nutured so much from it's Opel counterpart...
Oh ya, and meanwhile, they have created a model that doesn't fit the blue hair image that Buick has built... Stick to building cars for cruising the piggly wiggly GM, Buick's so called "rich" performance history is just that...
History.
IMO, Buick trying to recapture the glory days of the GNX is only going to further damage whatever steps Cadillac is trying to take to claim its own spot in the luxury performance arena...
BTW, what do you guys care anyways? It's an import... :P
And why not I guess. Pontiac was killed off, Saturn was toast and Cadillac surely doesn't need another front drive car nor would I bet they'd risk a case of "Catera 2.0"...
Plus, outside of the Lambda rebadge, there isn't a Buick in the stable that can't trace it's roots to Germany (Or Korea, or China...) so the Regal is a natural fit.
Examining worker to executive compensation trends over the past 30 or so years might unearth some problems of what ails us.
On the 50K+ 328, the car comes available with a lot of features not seen on many cars in its category, such as heads-up display.
A very nice 328 can be had for much less that $50K.
My lowly 40K LaCrosse has that
I see your point, BMW has some costly options that can spike up the price really quickly.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart