Saw this original dealer invoice posted in an ad for a 1970 Mach-1 Mustang project car..... Two points of interest and nostalgia.... The nearly inconceivable price of a brand new fully loaded Mach-1 Mustang back in 1970 ($3,626!!) and the total cost of 4 gallons of gas That comes out to about .33 cents a gallon!! Those were indeed, the good ol' days .
FDAF = Ford Dealer Advertising Fund Only $13!! Yep...that is right....every car purchased contributed to paying for newspaper, radio, and tv ads.
So, a man with average income, could go out and purchase a brand new Mach1 on approximately 40% of his annual income. I think todays average income is about $30,000. So, that means to go out and purchase an equivalent vehicle, say a 5.0. The man with average income would have to spend approximately 140% of his annual income. That really puts the rate of inflation into perspective, huh?
Just goes to show how old I am! Back in the " medieval days " gas was 25¢ a gallon for regular and 29¢ for " ethyl " ! God, I miss those days!!!
Yeah, whenever you bring something like this up, people invariably say "Well, people didn't make as much back then, so it all comes out about the same as today" Not quite. I about dropped a brick when my Mom told me what she paid for her Maverick new in 1970 (which eventually became my first car) $2,400 My brother said he priced a new 70 Boss 302 back before he started college.....$3,800. He passed because he needed his savings for college expenses. I priced a new Boss 302....$44,575 I'll pass because I don't want to take away my kids college educations and have to take out a 2nd mortgage on my house to buy a car
My Flcon cost $67.36 a month for 36 months. Only option was a $67.80 heater. If you wanted the dome light to come on when you opened the door it would cost extra.
My uncle custom-ordeded a 1971 Mach 1 ... dark green, silver stripes, AM/FM/8 track (ooooh, yeah ...) PS,PB,Air, 351C, C4, 15 inch Magnum wheels .... power windows and door locks .... it took 4 months for that car to appear .... and we all told him he was crazy for spending $4200 for a car. You could buy a new Vette for $7000. About 6 years later, while working my first job ($3.40/hour and about $3/hour commission ... I was SET UP and doin' well for being a senior in HS, don'tcha know ... livin' the good life ... )... I used to just about cry, because it used to cost $12 to fill up my 1965 Mustang.... I guess it it is all relative to the times you live in ...
This is interesting. http://mercyman53.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/the-cost-of-housing-1050-higher-than-1970-and-climbing/
Thats amazing. i know im (quite) young given the average age of the users on this forum but i can remember when we all freaked about gas going up to a whopping $2.00 a gallon.
When I got my license in '77, gas was around 55 cents-a-gallon We had several "gas shortages" in the next few years. I remember "odd/even" rationing in California, and having to ditch school to wait for hours in block-long lines for gas, which shot up to a shocking 75-80 cents a-gallon, and consumers thought they were getting totally ripped off having to pay "near a dollar a-gallon" for gas LMAO!! If we only knew! Basically, it's gone up a dollar-a-gallon every decade since