Like all teenaged boys getting ready to get their license, I started to look at the costs of cars. I know this will date me, but my high school days were the early ’70s. This from Instapundit brought back a couple of memories:
ALEX NUNEZ likes the Kia Rio. “Man, if you’re in the market for a new small car, you’re in luck, because there are a slew of good options that are priced attractively, well-equipped, and don’t shortchange you on style or fuel economy. I’ve mentioned a few that resonated with me so far, and have since spent some meaningful time with a few more. The biggest and most pleasant surprise of the bunch is the one you see here: the 2012 Kia Rio SX. This one is fully loaded, and carried a sticker price of $20,545 including freight and handling charges.”
Problem is, my memories were of a car pricing war between the Big Two plus One (Ford, GM and AMC) as well as VW – and one less digit to the left of the decimal point:
- VW Beetle – $1,874 (1970 – my favorite Aunt Babs and Uncle Larry ALWAYS bought VWs – Beetles and the buses)
- Ford Pinto – $2,343 (1973, wagon – what TMEW was driving when we first met the next decade)
- AMC Gremlin – $1,879 (1970 – $11,245 in 2012 dollars)
- Chevrolet Vega – $2,090 (1971 – I owned the sportier GT version while in college in the late 70s))
Nostalgia – it’s almost always cheaper….
