Inflation didn't appear to be much of a concern in grocery stores back in the early 20th century. Look at the price for that bottled Coke of 5¢ in 1924, a price that remained in effect right into the middle 1950s, maybe even until 1959. And who knows when the price first went to 5¢ -- maybe in the 1910s? When the price finally increased it only went up to 6¢, for Pete's sake! Two 6½ oz. Cokes in 1924 cost 10¢ so a comparable amount of Coke today (one 12 oz. can) can be had for about 70¢, a seven-fold increase, which really isn't bad at all.
But that $525 1924 Ford will now set you back right around $30,000, depending upon options and style, a whopping 57-fold increase. There's no doubt that today's automobiles are much better engineered and equipped with more bells and whistles than the old timers ever imagined, but get real. But some will say that $525 in 1924 was about a year's wage, same as $30,000 is about a year's wage today. So it looks like it actually turns out to be a draw.
Bruce Osburn
--We live so long as we are remembered... old German adage.
Dang, lights and shocks were extra back then. Couldn't make out what the other expensive add-ons were! I see after further review that they threw in the lights for free.