Cars are waaaaaaay fucking better than they were in the past. My dad had a Mustang in the mid 90s, paid about $20k for it, it had 225hp, cloth seats, crappy stereo, got like 16mpg, handled like crap with skinny 16" tires, and was a completely unsafe tin can of a car.

I have a newer one that I paid $35k for, it has 460hp, leather interior, a banging sound system, dozens of airbags, computer-controlled wizbangery that makes the car a breeze to drive, massive tires, and somehow gets 20mpg.

Adjusted for inflation, these cars cost the same, but the newer one is such an incredibly massive improvement in every aspect.