In 1970 Ford was advertising their Maverick for $1,995. This was a very basic car with a 6 banger and three on the tree, no air, nothing power. It was an upgrade on the Falcon chassis. I paid cash for one and it was a good car for the money.
A comparable basic car today is probably well over 30 grand.
We are buying a new subcompact John Deere tractor for gardening and mowing. This is $38,000 and by the time we are done buying attachments it will be close to $50,000. This is a tractor small enough (without attachments) to be loaded in the back of a full size pickup.
YOU own the tractor-—but John Deere owns the computer software.
YOU CANNOT CHANGE A SPARK PLUG YOURSELF-—ONLY JOHN DEERE Mechanics can do that.
I will buy a different brand over that alone.