In 1982, you could buy a car like the Plymouth Horizon TC3 "Miser" that got 51 MPG on the highway and 34 MPG in the city. The former number is much higher than the highest highway mileage number of any new car that isn't a hybrid car – which isn't a fair comparison because a hybrid needs two drivetrains (one gas, one electric) to beat the highway mileage of the '82 Plymouth.

And of course, you pay extra for that.

The new Prius – which is a fine car, by the way – stickers for $27,450. That's what you'll have to spend to get a new car that can deliver 56 MPG on the highway.  That's 5 miles-per-gallon better than the '82 Plymouth delivered. But the '82 Plymouth only cost $5,499 back in '82 – which "inflation adjusts" (meaning, how much the buying power of the currency we're forced to use by the central banking cartel that makes money by devaluing the buying power of fiat currency has diminished since then) to just over $17,000 in today's money.