4 ms·
I think it's important to note that a 2021 corvette is not a 1970 corvette. Think of all the additional safety features, the different materials of construction
by jjk166 5y ago
I think it's important to note that a 2021 corvette is not a 1970 corvette. Think of all the additional safety features, the different materials of construction, the vastly better electronics, etc. If you could transport a 2021 corvette back to 1970, there's no way it would sell for only $5,192.
This is actually a serious issue with many products, for example cleaning supplies that are sold for the same price but in different bottles with different internal volumes. Even for something as simple as bread, the average loaf on a modern shelf has many chemicals which would not have been present 50 years ago, and if you do go for a loaf comparable to what used to be available you're paying some markup for "organic" or "artisanal" labelling. Indeed virtually no where can you find a good whose price has not been affected by changes to technology, marketing, customer demographics, supply chains, etc. All of these obfuscate the change in the value of money. A reasonable basket-of-goods comparison requires looking at multiple goods and trying to normalize for all these changes.
Also a Big Mac in 2021 is 3.99. A meal is 5.99, which would have been $1.11 in 1970. Although even here, McDonalds is a very different restaurant now, it's impossible to say how much is inflation and how much is the big mac no longer being one of 6 items on the menu.
- xkcd-sucks 5y ago> I think it's important to note that a 2021 corvette is not a 1970 corvette. Think of all the additional safety features, the different materials of construction, the vastly better electronics, etc. This person is clearly neither a car enthusiast not a Corvette collector (e.g. one who determines the price via purchasing)
- jjk166 5y agoPaying more for something because it has become a valuable collector item is very much not the same as paying more for something because the value of currency has decreased.
- xkcd-sucks 5y agoBut who buys used cars except for people seeking transportation (honda civic, etc) or enthusiasts? Clearly the former group is not setting the price of sports cars
- jjk166 5y agoWe're not talking about buying a 50 year old corvette now vs when it was new, we're talking about buying a new corvette now vs a new corvette 50 years ago. And it doesn't matter if a car enthusiast doesn't care about safety features, if the manufacturer is required to put them in, and they cost money to add, then they affect the price all the same. Also I used to drive a corvette. It's actually a remarkably practical car for its category - not insanely expensive, low maintenance costs, and good lifetime. It's hardly a super-car intended for a small niche audience (though admittedly not a workhorse).