[DrVenture]

I don't think you can compare a car (any car) from 1968 to anything two years old today. That thing was a tin can on wheels with zero creature comforts and would have been ready for the scrap yard in about 5 years. Even the Civic hatchback that I paid $9k for in 1988 was bare-bones car with no creature comforts or safety features. It had no factory radio, no A/C, no ABS, no airbags and roll up windows. Of course, the price of insurance reflects modern cars complexity. Add to all that the average income for a family in 1970. In the U.S. it was $822.50 a month.