![]() I rented a Starlet in early 1983, to go to a job interview in another city. That still seems to put it in the realm where someone has a fair range of choices and at least a bit of discretionary income.ĭoes that seem right, or did I miss something? That sort of price difference could put someone into a lower-spec larger car or a higher-spec American small car. If it is, then I guess this Toyota still fell somewhere above the “basic transportation” bottom end of the scale. Does that sound about right for something comparable to a stripper Cavalier? Supposing my mom’s memory is good, that 1985 money ($5,700) was $4,815. By 1981 it took $8,250 to have the same buying power. So I took the number I know to be true-the 1977 well-equipped Thunderbird’s $5,500, and ran it through the BLS inflation calculator. I know my broke-as-church-mice parents somehow scared up enough to buy a brand-new Cavalier Type-10 (about the most stripped-out car they could have bought, honestly) in 1985, a car for which my mom says they paid roughly the same money as the reviewed Toyota was stated to cost. I mean, Ford advertised the well-equipped Thunderbird at $5,500 in 1977. I knew inflation was high during that era, but I guess I didn’t really get what that meant. Seriously, this is a useful answer, so thank you for this. Wait, wait, what? CR had a day of the week decoder? For real? So, yeah, the Starlet wasn’t a great car, and it wasn’t a car anybody desired, but it was reliable and solid, and it was the best bet for the buck, if you didn’t have many bucks to bet. In fact by mid 1981, political pressure forced the Japanese to limit imports to the U.S. In the early to mid 70’s people still laughed at tiny, tinny junky Japanese cars. Additionally, Toyota had developed its reputation for reliability by 1981. Used cars had become tremendously expensive for two reasons: the poor quality of new American cars (GM Diesel, anyone?) and interest rates and inflation-increased prices which made most new cars unaffordable, so people preferred used cars built in the 60’s. ![]() Those were the days when Consumers Reports published a decoder so buyers could avoid American cars built on a Monday or a Friday. Further American cars were, well…., terrible. Note that in the bad economy nobody was getting any raises to keep up with inflation either. Gas prices were high in 1979, they’d doubled in 12 months, thanks to Iran. Interest rates for car loans were at 18 – 20 percent even if you had decent credit. ![]() That’s inflation (okay, and some devaluation of the dollar against the Yen). Inflation was at (for you, these days) unimaginable levels- note that the 1977 Corolla was $2800 and the 1981 Starlet was $4800 for what was essentially an equivalent car.
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