I’m not really trying to stir the pot here folks, but I ran across some of my father’s original window stickers, owner’s manuals, and other assorted new car purchase paperwork from the late Sixties and Seventies, and to be honest I just had to share a few.
Aside from the original stuff he has tucked away in a safe place from when he purchased his 1963  Ford Falcon Sprint (used) and new 1968 Shelby G.T.500 (and quickly sold because he could not keep gas in the tank), he now has paperwork for his 1969 Ford LTD, 1971 and 1973 Ford Maverick, 1973 Mercury Marquis Brougham, 1978 Olds Ninety-Eight Regency sedan, 1977 Honda Accord CVCC, 1980 Datsun (by Nissan) 200SX, 1983 Datsun Maxima (a straight-six diesel with five-speed manual which I drove for years and fondly recall), 1984 Datsun 200SX turbo and 1987 Nissan 300ZX (we have yet to locate anything for his 1982 Datsun 280ZX).
Notice the trend away from domestic makes? These cars, mind you, are all long gone (at least, that’s what we’re assuming), and since the brain has had a few years of fresh data stuffed inside, some of the old stuff was locked away in dusty archives. High-thrills/relatively low-buck sports cars somewhat aside, gas crunches, two growing kids and a mortgage no doubt had a combined effect, but I think I found the base root.
It may not be readable, but here’s the window sticker for the aforementioned 1977 Honda. Aside from an ever-improving build quality, here’s what came on the little blue bullet (we’re not talking a GS455, but peppy nonetheless), no extra cost: 1599cc four cylinder; four-wheel independent suspension; five-speed manual; rack & pinion steering; brake fluid warning system; inside hood and tailgate release; cowl air scoop; hinged rear side glass; body side molding; tach; safety indicator lighted diagram; maintenance interval indicator; fuel reserve warning light; intermittent wipers; rear wiper, washer and defroster; side window defroster; day/night and vanity mirrors; dual horns; lighter and coin holder with lid; glove box and baggage area lights; radial tires; four-spoke sporty steering wheel; knitted upholstery (in blue) with arm rests; AM-FM radio; electric clock; 4.3:1 rear axle ratio - all for $4,265. Cheap car. Get’s you there. Especially when my dad had an impressive one-hour and 20-minute commute, one-way, to the office. But it’s the stunning 38 MPG city, 48 MPG highway and 42 MPG combined rating that made us snicker, with a listed annual fuel cost of $232 (pump gas averaged $0.65/gallon).
The ‘78 Oldsmobile (below) was our last domestic car in the garage for decades. Sticker without options was $7,610.25. A boatload of options, including the extra $65 for the 403-cu.in. four-barrel V-8, was another $2,802.05. Add to that a destination charge of $298, and my folks forked over a total of $10,710.55 for a car with an average MPG of 21 (final drive ratio was 2.41:1).
Putting the original sticker price into today’s equivalent, the $4,265 Honda would have cost us $14,590.23 in 2008, whereas the $10,711 (rounded up) Oldsmobile would have cost $34,051.52. And let’s not venture to guess what was saved in gas ($0.65 in 1977 works out to roughly $2.22 in 2008). Again, just thought I’d share a few memories we uncovered during a snowy weekend.
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