The difference is the house of 1975 compared to the house of 2022. The average home in 1975 was around 1500sf today it’s around 2537sf. If you do the math ($ per sq ft in 1975 X inflation rate vs $ per sq ft today) it’s pretty close. [ (38,100/1500) X 5.51 = $139.95 per sf compared to $127.30 per sf. It’s pretty much the same.
With cars, the average 1975 car was pretty basic, many with 3-speed manual transmissions, AC was a luxury and the wheels were painted steel with hubcaps. Today it’s hard to buy a car without a 5-speed auto trans, AC, infotainment center, alloy wheels and a glass panoramic moon roof. Those luxury items make up the difference in $ between 1975 avg cars and today’s.
We are going to end up like Cuba . They keep the old cars from the 50’s running for years. Alot of people are going to try and repair their gas cars as long as they can.
It’s not just square feet. Amenities in houses today are, on average, far better. Better windows, better insulation, better HVAC & appliances, more electrical outlets, etc. You pointed this out with cars, but it also applies to houses.
That’s an unlikely scenario. Most of Cuba’s 60,000 old cars are pre-1960 vintage. Before 1960 American automobiles were relatively simple mechanical machines any shade-tree mechanic could work on. It’s not like that with the automobiles built in the 21st century. Many electrical components were simple switches, relays and simple DC electrical systems that were easy to troubleshoot and fix.
In 30 years, after you locate a one of the dwindling number of $50 per gal gas stations and fill your old-fashioned fuel tank you’ll have to maintain your car. When your car breaks down, you’ll be faced with few supply sources for parts: There are few common components between car manufacturers.
I think we squandered the opportunity to make several generations of highly fuel efficient vehicles. Engine efficiency and the use of hybrids have been used to make car bigger and more powerful, but not more fuel efficient. So then the government says “okay emissions are not going down fast enough, especially carbon dioxide emissions, so we just have to ban all y’all”.
Forgive me if people think that maybe I’m fat-shaming, but actually think it’s because Americans don’t physically fit into what used to be thought of as standard size vehicles any longer. I saw a 1960s Chevy Impala rolling on the road the other day and it looked positively tiny next to the swollen “crossovers”.
