Yahoo Autos Cars weren't as cheap as you remember in the '90s
It's time again for a little adventure in inflation! We've already gleefully discovered how much $10,000 could buy us in the year we were born, as well as how much the equivalent of today's average new vehicle price of $48,000 would get us in 1985 (not as much as you'd think). We're running back that concept today, this time to 1995 when $48,000 works out to $24,000.
Once again, your money is not going as far as you might think. Luxury brands are out of the question, apart from the most basic Volvos and Saabs, which were more luxury-adjacent back in the mid 1990s. The bulk of the new car market existed in the upper teens, though, so there's still plenty of room to get a great car. Just not as great as you probably expected.
By the way, use this amazing resource to play along and find the base prices of every car on sale in 1995.
Here are the rules of this exercise, pretty much lifted from the last post.
It has to be a new 1995 model year car.
It has to be within $1,000 of $24,000. If you're shorter than that, look for options. If you're over, you can't buy the car.
OK, now crank the TLC, and let's get back to 1995 ...
1995 Nissan 240SX SE
Senior Editor James Riswick: Unlike our 1985 adventure, I'm saying to hell with family obligations. I therefore narrowed it down to two modern classic choices: Honda Prelude Si and the Nissan 240SX SE. They had similar power outputs from their four-cylinder engines. They both looked great, albeit in very different ways. The Prelude had a much cooler interior; indeed it was one of the coolest interiors Honda has ever created. The 240SX was rear-wheel drive. Right, so I'm going with the Nissan, then. For whatever reason, this car didn't really get on my teenaged car enthusiast radar back in the day, nor thereafter. It should have. Who knows, maybe I would've got one as my first car (doubtful, RWD would've been a no go for my parents given Indiana winters). But I'm the one going back in time here with my own fake money, so damn it, RWD all day. Base price was $21,219, but some combination of optional ABS, limited-slip diff, sunroof and the Leather Package would almost certainly get me into range.
(By the way, let's just note that a Honda Prelude Si, which wasn't even the top-shelf model, went for more in today's dollars than a Civic Type-R).
1995 GMC Yukon GT Two-Door
Senior Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski: Guess what? It was possible in 1995 to get a brand-new GMC Yukon two-door SUV with a 5.7-liter V8, a five-speed manual transmission and part-time four-wheel drive. It was also possible to get all that for a little under our $24,000 price cap, and to top it all off, it could be ordered in the blacked-out GT trim you see above. This is one seriously cool 'ute, and one that will also prove highly versatile for my imaginary '90s-adult self (I was 15 back then in real life). It looks great, performs admirably (minus gas mileage, naturally) and will haul all of my stuff with ease. In the present-day real world, I own a '93 GMC Suburban and drive it regularly. So I already know I'd have loved this thing back when it was new. And maybe I'd still have it nearly 30 years later.
1995 Volkswagen Passat GLX
Associate Editor Byron Hurd: My first car! I loved this thing almost as much as it hated my wallet. I had friends look at me cross-eyed for saying how much I liked a car that frequently didn't start and often required expensive repairs. "It's a great car," I'd repeatedly insist. "By what measure, precisely?" they'd ask. Well, not in those words; we were teenagers. But they drove hand-me-down Hondas and Toyotas; we might as well have been speaking different languages.
