This article originally ran on axlegeeks.com.
You never forget the cars you grew up with. Whether its the car you learned to drive on, the first car you bought, or the well-kept classic that still gleams in your garage, that memory is likely one that you will hold fondly for the rest of your life.
AxleGeeks, a vehicle data site and part of the Graphiq network, was curious to see how much the average new car cost in the year you were born. We also wanted to see how much car those same dollars might buy you in 2016 given the new features and technology available to today's car buyer. Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, we calculated the average expenditure per car (considering sales of both domestic and foreign models) for each year since 1967. Then, using the national consumer price index, we adjusted for inflation and calculated the price of each car to determine its value in 2016 dollars.
We also compared the difference in price each year to see how much it went up or down. Turns out, though we enjoy a lot more bells and whistles today, the price of your average new car has remained fairly consistent. Car prices in the U.S. reached a peak in 1999, the same year the average family income peaked at $57,000, according to the Federal Reserve. National GDP growth also hit a 25-year apex in 1999, reaching a whopping 4.79 percent. As GDP growth declined in following years, average car prices followed suit.
The BEA data we used provided the average month-to-month price of purchased cars, so we took the average of all 12 months to determine the yearly cost average.
1967
The Cost of a Car in 1967 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $3,215Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $22,807
1968
The Cost of a Car in 1968 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $3,407Change From Previous Year: +$191Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $23,189
1969
The Cost of a Car in 1969 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $3,556Change From Previous Year: +$150Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $22,946
1970
The Cost of a Car in 1970 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $3,543Change From Previous Year: -$14Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $21,625
1971
The Cost of a Car in 1971 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $3,742Change From Previous Year: +$200Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $21,881
1972
The Cost of a Car in 1972 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $3,879Change From Previous Year: +$137Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $21,977
1973
The Cost of a Car in 1973 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $4,052Change From Previous Year: +$173Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $21,616
1974
The Cost of a Car in 1974 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $4,441Change From Previous Year: +$389Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $21,344
1975
The Cost of a Car in 1975 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $4,951Change From Previous Year: +$510Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $21,810
1976
The Cost of a Car in 1976 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $5,416Change From Previous Year: +$465Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $22,552
1977
The Cost of a Car in 1977 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $5,813Change From Previous Year: +$397Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $22,728
1978
The Cost of a Car in 1978 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $6,379Change From Previous Year: +$566Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $23,180
1979
The Cost of a Car in 1979 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $6,848Change From Previous Year: +$469Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $22,356
1980
The Cost of a Car in 1980 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $7,574Change From Previous Year: +$727Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $21,787
1981
The Cost of a Car in 1981 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $8,910Change From Previous Year: +$1,335Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $23,234
1982
The Cost of a Car in 1982 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $9,903Change From Previous Year: +$993Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $24,317
1983
The Cost of a Car in 1983 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $10,607Change From Previous Year: +$704Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $25,238
1984
The Cost of a Car in 1984 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $11,374Change From Previous Year: +$767Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $25,948
1985
The Cost of a Car in 1985 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $11,838Change From Previous Year: +$464Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $26,067
1986
The Cost of a Car in 1986 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $12,651Change From Previous Year: +$813Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,338
1987
The Cost of a Car in 1987 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $13,383Change From Previous Year: +$733Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,916
1988
The Cost of a Car in 1988 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $13,933Change From Previous Year: +$550Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,918
1989
The Cost of a Car in 1989 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $14,372Change From Previous Year: +$439Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,479
1990
The Cost of a Car in 1990 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $15,045Change From Previous Year: +$673Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,292
1991
The Cost of a Car in 1991 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $15,473Change From Previous Year: +$428Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $26,936
1992
The Cost of a Car in 1992 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $16,334Change From Previous Year: +$862Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,608
1993
The Cost of a Car in 1993 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $16,829Change From Previous Year: +$495Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,616
1994
The Cost of a Car in 1994 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $17,803Change From Previous Year: +$974Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $28,473
1995
The Cost of a Car in 1995 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $17,900Change From Previous Year: +$97Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,848
1996
The Cost of a Car in 1996 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $18,525Change From Previous Year: +$626Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,982
1997
The Cost of a Car in 1997 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $19,214Change From Previous Year: +$689Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $28,370
1998
The Cost of a Car in 1998 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $20,238Change From Previous Year: +$1,024Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $29,412
1999
The Cost of a Car in 1999 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $20,686Change From Previous Year: +$448Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $29,416
2000
The Cost of a Car in 2000 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $21,047Change From Previous Year: +$360Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $28,944
2001
The Cost of a Car in 2001 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $21,478Change From Previous Year: +$431Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $28,733
2002
The Cost of a Car in 2002 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $21,866Change From Previous Year: +$388Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $28,791
2003
The Cost of a Car in 2003 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $21,663Change From Previous Year: -$203Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,883
2004
The Cost of a Car in 2004 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $22,068Change From Previous Year: +$404Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,656
2005
The Cost of a Car in 2005 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $23,013Change From Previous Year: +$945Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,893
2006
The Cost of a Car in 2006 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $23,629Change From Previous Year: +$617Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,752
2007
The Cost of a Car in 2007 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $23,892Change From Previous Year: +$263Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,297
2008
The Cost of a Car in 2008 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $23,429Change From Previous Year: -$463Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $25,787
2009
The Cost of a Car in 2009 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $23,252Change From Previous Year: -$177Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $25,696
2010
The Cost of a Car in 2010 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $24,899Change From Previous Year: +$1,647Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,082
2011
The Cost of a Car in 2011 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $25,498Change From Previous Year: +$599Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $26,873
2012
The Cost of a Car in 2012 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $25,552Change From Previous Year: +$55Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $26,377
2013
The Cost of a Car in 2013 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $25,581Change From Previous Year: +$29Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $26,017
2014
The Cost of a Car in 2014 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $25,464Change From Previous Year: -$118Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $25,489
2015
The Cost of a Car in 2015 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $25,332Change From Previous Year: -$132Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $25,332
2016
The Cost of a Car in 2016 | AxleGeeksCar Cost: $25,449Change From Previous Year: +$117Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $25,449
Overview
These summary visualizations illustrate two visible trends between the absolute and inflation-adjusted costs of a car since 1967. Though the absolute price of a car has steadily risen due to inflation, the inflation-adjusted price has remained relatively stable. This means car buying over time has likely had a similar impact on American budgets, regardless of the year of purchase. In other good news for the American car buyer, the cost of the average new car in 2016 is the lowest it has been since 1983.