In most industrialized countries the inflation-adjusted average price of a new car has dropped from the mid 20th century to the present day.
With respect to average household earnings, for example, the real price of a new car in the U.S. fell by 10 percent from 1998 to 2006.
Except for the last decade when unanticipated international events and new electronic systems sometimes raised the real price from one year to the next, the trend has been almost continuously downward.