These Are The Cars You Wish You Bought When They Were Cheap - Jalopnik

A Jalopnik reader’s “cars you wish you bought when they were cheap” question quickly turned into a generational reality check. The author recounts a conversation while photographing a press car, when an elderly man said his first vehicle was a 1964 Volkswagen Beetle costing $1,100 new—about $11,900 in 2026 dollars after inflation. The man then asked what new car costs under $20,000, and was told that no new models have MSRPs below that figure. The author adds that the average new-car price is now over $50,000. The takeaway: affordability has tightened sharply, and it’s only getting harder.