I’ve shown some figures for the 3200 like this a couple of years back on here and it had doubled over 20 years. Something I’ve started to realise as I get older is how you have to recalibrate the value of money. From houses that I find astonishingly expensive, to new cars, right down to the fact that a a pint isn’t £3 any more and especially recently, as inflation has been rampant; it’s hard to get your head around. Flip side of it still is there’s still some amazing cars out there that show what you can get for the price of a ‘insert any new modern car’. But your point about the new GT shows that manufacturers think they can ask silly numbers as people will pay it. Thing is, I don’t think they will now, in enough numbers, and it’ll be back to the time with discounts and heavy depreciation on some models of Maserati. It’ll be like when you could get £20k-80k off a car post the 2009 financial troubles. It’s all about timing as we all know, but the numbers just seem huge for a new anything.
For me the true shock is the price of a 12in vinyl single (for DJing purposes). When I started buying in 97 it was approaching £4.50, something that shocked the generation older version of me who could remember picking up new releases in 1989 for £2.50.
This year we’re looking at £12-£15 for a single 12in. I get inflation, I get that major labels have swamped the few remaining vinyl pressing houses with new versions of easily available albums that will sit unplayed, edging out new independent releases, and of course distribution etc.
But £15, often for one recording per side? I’m out.
Then there’s the artificially inflated limited-run pressings bunfight and I have serious CBA issues.
But back to cars, the finance market is on the brink of going ahead of the wider market, especially for ‘toy’ purchases. If no-one’s buying, they don’t earn commission, so I’d expect some movement there before long to entice us into online silliness
