Back in 1984 I worked for a company that made high end kayaks. The Kevlar boat was twice the price of the fiberglass model. They took the same amount of time to lay up in the exact same mold. The Kevlar was lighter and stronger. The Kevlar boat sold to people who were world class competitors.
There is a reason why a Bell helicopter costs $2 million. Kevlar is very expensive.
One of the things that made America grow is energy and transportation were cheap. Now they’re both expensive. In 1955 my dad paid $2,500 for a V8 Dodge Royal with rubber mats, three on the tree, a 270 cube V8, standard brakes and no air. In 1970 he bought a Dodge Polara, all the parts for which were interchangeable with the 1955. It had a 318 V8, automatic transmission, Air conditioning and a luxurious carpeted interior. It cost $3,400. Considering how superior the car was it hadn’t increased in price much if at all over the 1955 model. But now a typical car runs $30,000. It’s tiny and yes it gets 30 mpg but it costs .15 a mile just for gas.
Incidentally, a huge part of the cost increase is due to deficit spending and printing money. But wages have not kept pace and people on fixed incomes are really screwed.