Were they expensive???

[Super Blue 72]

It's tough to do a direct comparison of then to now because the overall economic picture now has some pretty extreme examples that you could pull from.

Good point, HP2.  CODY made some very good comparisons as well.  The picture back may have been different than it is now, kinda hard to compare but in ways similar.  Wish I lived in the area where houses were that cheap.  Around here now the starter single family house is around $500k. 

I guess it was starting in '72 most of the performance was lost due to this and that, be it gas prices, insurance rate, corporate bean counters, I dunno.  Either way, today is sort of like that in that there is a struggle for increased gas mileage, high insurance costs and just being practical. 

Sure, hindsight is 20/20.  Why isn't everyone getting an SRT8 Challenger?  Why bother with a 6 cylinder model?  Different strokes for different folks depending on their situation/needs.

Just for reference, my '72 Challenger Rallye 340 cost the original owner $3840 back in August 31, 1971.

[hpe600rt]

wow a house starts at 500k where do you live is that a new one,you can get them from 50k and up around hear 100k is about the avg for a good one now a days a few years ago the where 160k or so

[Super Blue 72]

wow a house starts at 500k where do you live is that a new one,you can get them from 50k and up around hear 100k is about the avg for a good one now a days a few years ago the where 160k or so

Nope, these are like older houses in my area.  Real estate in Massachusetts is pretty expensinve relative to other areas in the country.  Weston, a town in MA that isn't too far from me, maybe about 20 minutes or so, has the most expensive realestate in MA.

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/weston/2010/10/weston_ranks_97th_wealthiest_z.html
"Forbes reported the median price of a home in Weston is $1,564,537"

http://www.boston.com/Boston/businessupdates/2011/06/weston-priciest-housing-market-mass/3FTF1RSqHetm0Ub9EAt6sO/index.html

"Compared with the national average of $293,251, the average for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Massachusetts overall was $528,557, said Coldwell Banker, a large residential real estate brokerage company."

[hpe600rt]

wow i feel for you, you must have a real good job,why not move some where cheaper to live.and i thought i had it bad wow

[HP2]

I think the median house price where I'm at is around $250k, new or existing. Sure there are cheaper and more expensive versions depending on neighborhood.

My Ex wife's family was from the Joplin area in Missouri. I was somewhat surprised when we went back there and most houses were around $25-35k back in the late 80s.

My current wife's family is from western Idaho. There are some decent hosues up there for $60-75k, but most the new units are around $125k.


I spent some time in Mass. about 20 years ago. Yup, ya'll got some pricey real estate up there for sure. There and the California Bay are are two of the priciest home areas I've visited.

[hpe600rt]

wow that is pricy

[BIGSHCLUNK]

Lots of great points here. In 1970 I was a freshmen in hi-school... $1.60 hr prt time. I had an intrest in MOPAR even then but to afford anyting.. not to mention a license