Car & Driver Archive: We Compare Hot-but-Affordable Sport Coupes for 1995

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MembershipNo2077@reddit

I'd note that all these were around $18,000. Adjusted for inflation that's \~$40,000 today (30 years later).

The cheap sports coupe market is a lot thinner now, but I'll note that a new GR86/BRZ is \~$30,000. A new ND3 Miata is \~$30-40k (depending on trim).

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rssin@reddit

Too bad wages haven't kept up with inflation

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This is such a tired lazy meme. Wages have more than kept up with inflation; median household income in 1995 was 34k. Adjusted for inflation, call it 68k in today’s money. The median for 2024 was ~84k. These numbers don’t even account for the fact that households have gotten smaller and benefits more generous over that same time period.

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IThoughtItWasAToyGun@reddit

You believe made up stats

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TealPotato@reddit

One of the problems is that the way the US gov calculates inflation isn't entirely inclusive of all of the costs the average consumer could face.

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band-of-horses@reddit

Great, now instead of median look at average and the bottom 20 vs top 20 and tell me how great it's been.

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rssin@reddit

Has house and automotive ownership numbers for median income earners changed from 1995 to now?

Additionally on your last sentence, has inflation impacted household sizes?

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AndreLeGeant88@reddit

Cars are one of the few things that have actually tracked inflation. It's everything else that makes the inflation rates feel absolutely bogus. The more accurate thing to say is that inflation is much higher since 1994 then any official metric, wages have not kept up with inflation, but car prices have managed to increase below the real inflationary rate

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TheKingOfBreadstix@reddit

For the 1994-95 school year, UMass-Amherst cost ~$10,000 for instate tuition, fees, and room & board.

For the current school year the same thing costs ~$37k.

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Does_Not_Use_Clothes@reddit

Every other thread on this subreddit has these two comments in back to back order every single time.

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hi_im_bored13@reddit

With a third comment stating that wages did in fact not just keep up with inflation but exceed it, especially you adjust for quality of life & quality of cars on top

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ExplosiveMachine@reddit

It's great if wages exceeded inflation, but unfortunately, so did the costs of living.

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rssin@reddit

There are unfortunately flaws to the way inflation is calculated. For example around 25 years ago it was possible to run a household on a single income, but now that is not possible or at least it would be more uncomfortable than around 25 years ago.

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qb4ever@reddit

I'd say these THREE comments

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jabroni4545@reddit

These four comments have been popping up quite a bit.

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Rocklobster376@reddit

Well they’re pretty relevant to everything new car related

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Lancer876@reddit

The internet is dead and we killed it

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ggtsu_00@reddit

They have, K-shaped economy and all that.

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Rynyann@reddit

I had a conversation with someone recently about the GR Corolla. They were pretty shocked when I showed them it's more or less the same price as the old Celica GT-Four.

People always complain about how expensive cars like the Miata are now, never accounting for inflation. Not to mention the fact that you get a lot more car now. I think manufacturers have done okay at pricing, all things considered.

Now, we have fewer options these days as a result of the '08 financial crisis, which is one issue. Wages and buying power, and cost of living are another.

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AtomWorker@reddit

This is an important takeaway. $40k for sports cars that barely outperform modern economy cars and offer none of the features that are commonplace today.

And rest assured that the people buying those cars new back then were as comparatively affluent as people buying comparable cars today. It's worth noting that these cars only became relatively common in the early 00s when they hitting the used market.

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PlatinumElement@reddit

How does a car become MORE common once it’s used?

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Ancient_Persimmon@reddit

Magic.

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Ancient_Persimmon@reddit

. It's worth noting that these cars only became relatively common in the early 00s when they hitting the used market.

Schrodinger's sports coupes?

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EarthOk2418@reddit

Adjusted for inflation the GTI’s is actually cheaper now and has more equipment.

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Teams11b@reddit

I seriously thought BRZs were 30k until a few weeks ago. They’re 40k.

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747WakeTurbulance@reddit

No Celica, 240SX, or Prelude?

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clickstops@reddit

The 240 and Prelude were upmarket of this comparison

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Successful_Ad_9707@reddit

Ngl, it did put a bigger smile on my face seeing the Integra take a top spot. Love my Ls and all it's slowness.

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lifegoeson2702@reddit (OP)

7.5 seconds to 60 ain’t too bad, the automatic may have been a different story

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Windows-XP-Home-NEW@reddit

That’s not bad at all, especially considering its age.

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Successful_Ad_9707@reddit

For sure. Mine is probably closer to 8 seconds these days just due to age and milage, but it still puts a big ol grin on my face hearing that intake roar. The ol girl ain't fast, but it's my first car and probably the one I'll hang on to forever.

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_Thorshammer_@reddit

A 1995 Camaro Z28 has about the same MSRP as these.

Just sayin'.

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747WakeTurbulance@reddit

Mustang GT too.

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Funkytadualexhaust@reddit

No 240sx but a 200?

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lifegoeson2702@reddit (OP)

240sx was more expensive & upmarket. The 200sx was essentially a replacement for the SE-R

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Funkytadualexhaust@reddit

Figured it was similar to Integra pricing

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OoIIoO@reddit

Nissan had a wild list of 2-door coupes in the 90s. The 200SX replaced both the 2-door Sentra (including ther SE-R), as well as the NX. The Silvia-based 240SX slotted between the FWD models and the top-trim 300ZX, both available as convertibles (with the T-top option on the NX offering the cheaper fun open top alternative).

Honorable mention to the Skyline (Japan only), 2-door Pathfinder (became 4-door only in 1995), the Infiniti M30 (coupe and convertible), and Aussie's Nissan Ute (badge engineered Ford Falcon).

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RunninOnMT@reddit

I wish they’d made a G20 coupe. That would’ve been cool

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Ancient_Persimmon@reddit

The 2 door Sentra became the 200SX for the B14 generation.

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ggtsu_00@reddit

No Toyota Paseo?

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DodgerBlueRobert1@reddit

Seriously? It's just a 2-door Tercel with a different body. It had no more than 100 hp. Simply an entry level subcompact runabout. It doesn't compete with the cars in the article.

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Glittery_Kittens@reddit

Ah the good ol' days

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thetimechaser@reddit

Literally peak. We didn’t know what we had.

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sl0wjim@reddit

My dad had a Neon DOHC coupe and it was great until the engine blew up at like 80k miles. Tennis ball yellow too - surprised they didn't include that in the comparison. Dealership did replace the motor under warranty but it blew up again at like 130k and we sold it for scrap.

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PlatinumElement@reddit

That’s unfortunate. My parent’s DOHC 5mt Sport 4door went 350k miles without any problems except a snapped shifter cable. It probably went much longer than that but the gauge cluster stopped working at that mileage

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MMinjin@reddit

Hondas were so good back then. They were somehow much better than specs would make you think. I'd love to have a DCIntegra but they are so hard to find now.

Owned : 86 Integra RS, 96 Civic Ex

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OoIIoO@reddit

I remember cross-shopping a Honda Del Sol Si-R and a Nissan NX2000, two fun cars the didn't have the "it's a convertible" insurance bump (and also not fitting in a Miata didn't help either).

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g-4-ces@reddit

When Acura meant something…please Acura make a real comeback