Here's $24,000. Buy something new in 1995

It's time again for a little adventure in inflation! We've already gleefully discovered how much $10,000 could buy us in the year we were born, as well as how much the equivalent of today's average new vehicle price of $48,000 would get us in 1985 (not as much as you'd think). We're running back that concept today, this time to 1995 when $48,000 works out to $24,000.

Once again, your money is not going as far as you might think. Luxury brands are out of the question, apart from the most basic Volvos and Saabs, which were more luxury-adjacent back in the mid 1990s. The bulk of the new car market existed in the upper teens, though, so there's still plenty of room to get a great car. Just not as great as you probably expected. 

By the way, use this amazing resource to play along and find the base prices of every car on sale in 1995. 

Here are the rules of this exercise, pretty much lifted from the last post.

OK, now crank the TLC, and let's get back to 1995 ...

Senior Editor James Riswick: Unlike our 1985 adventure, I'm saying to hell with family obligations. I therefore narrowed it down to two modern classic choices: Honda Prelude Si and the Nissan 240SX SE. They had similar power outputs from their four-cylinder engines. They both looked great, albeit in very different ways. The Prelude had a much cooler interior; indeed it was one of the coolest interiors Honda has ever created. The 240SX was rear-wheel drive. Right, so I'm going with the Nissan, then. For whatever reason, this car didn't really get on my teenaged car enthusiast radar back in the day, nor thereafter. It should have. Who knows, maybe I would've got one as my first car (doubtful, RWD would've been a no go for my parents given Indiana winters). But I'm the one going back in time here with my own fake money, so damn it, RWD all day. Base price was $21,219, but some combination of optional ABS, limited-slip diff, sunroof and the Leather Package would almost certainly get me into range. 

(By the way, let's just note that a Honda Prelude Si, which wasn't even the top-shelf model, went for more in today's dollars than a Civic Type-R).

Senior Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski: Guess what? It was possible in 1995 to