The good old days...

[mschma000]

I was fidling around in my basement and I opened up a tackle box my grandparents gave me.  They have all thier old fishing lisences in there.  I found an out of state MI lisence and the price got my eye! Sorry about the big picture you might have to scroll to the right...

 

[high_flags]

love the cost.............. my how times change.. but gas was what 35cents a gal....lol,     I was just 3yrs old in 67     

[river_scum]

thats cool. i found a box of sports afield mags of my great grandfathers in the attic. in one i found his drivers license and his and great grandmas fishing licenses, from 1943. the mags are from same year. funny to think they had male and female licenses.

[TeacherPreacher]

Ya, Me too High-Flags
Teach

[FelixD]

love the cost.............. my how times change.. but gas was what 35cents a gal....lol,     I was just 3yrs old in 67     

Man your OLD................ 

[BIGCREW]

I have a collection of old fishing licenses, in Pennsylvania they used to issue a button for your fishing license, they were my grandfather's I got the whole set first to last buttons issued in a frame for display, my 1955. button isnt in very good shape gramps car burned that year and it was in the car but there all in decent shape and now I think there going to start using them again or you can purchase one for an added fee nothing like the good old days thats for sure

[crappieslayer37]

So that would put resident at what? $2.75?

[Cool Cat]

love the cost.............. my how times change.. but gas was what 35cents a gal....lol,     I was just 3yrs old in 67     

Wow, we had it made.  In 67 gas was 29.9 around here.  Oh wait, you were using Ethyl, right?  ROFL 

[river_scum]

was curious about the costs of the licenses i have. the male indiana resident license was $1.50, the female was $.50. gramps's drivers license was $.50. the michigan non res. license of his is $1.00. all these fees are from 1943 threw 1945 licenses. seems pretty cheap but what was the annual income then?

[h2.0shaver]

1943-45 average annual income = $2100
Gasoline=  $.15 per gallon

[wax_worm]

1943-45 average annual income = $2100
Gasoline=  $.15 per gallon

Interesting...per the 2011 census data the median household income was $50,500.00.  With gas at 3.00 a gallon it is hard to believe that cost per gallon in relation to what people made was HIGHER in 1943 than in 2011. 

1943-1945 = 1 gallon of gas cost .0000714 of ones average income.
vs.
2011  - 1 gallon of gas cost .0000594 of ones annual household income.

Things were much simpler then for sure, but for most, I am not sure they were the 'good old days' financially.

[teardrop]

Interesting...per the 2011 census data the median household income was $50,500.00.  With gas at 3.00 a gallon it is hard to believe that cost per gallon in relation to what people made was HIGHER in 1943 than in 2011. 

1943-1945 = 1 gallon of gas cost .0000714 of ones average income.
vs.
2011  - 1 gallon of gas cost .0000594 of ones annual household income.

Things were much simpler then for sure, but for most, I am not sure they were the 'good old days' financially.

This was the war years gas cost probably was reflected by that. I'm sure the availabilty of gas (rationing was in effect) made the trips shorter. If we had to deal with all the hardships they delt with daily we would be as frugal they were with what we do have.

[rico]

This was the war years gas cost probably was reflected by that. I'm sure the availabilty of gas (rationing was in effect) made the trips shorter. If we had to deal with all the hardships they delt with daily we would be as frugal they were with what we do have.

I will add to this.  Remember that WWII brought us out of the depression.  Jobs were plentiful throughout those years mainly due to the war effort.  But you are exactly right teardrop, rationing was in place and it went across the board.  I remember my Grandma telling me how tough it was back in those days.  She basically said that the years before they didn't have any money, when the war broke out they had money but couldn't spend it!

[Jigmup]

When speaking of fuel consumption in dollars compared to annual income, the travesty is in mpg. In 1943 the average mpg was around 17.5 mpg and in 2014 it is at around 25 mpg. With all the technological advances (mostly DARPA's...benefiting the military and computing science of course) we couldn't have escalated the average mpg more than 43%? Well, of course we can, we just aren't allowed. Take a look at some diesel models available in the U.K. if you want to get your panties in a wad!

Crony Capitalism is the problem! I'm all for free markets but that is not the system in place. The appearance of a free market is there but the reality is that we are more or less farmed in this country! Just my observation.

[r3foxx]

When speaking of fuel consumption in dollars compared to annual income, the travesty is in mpg. In 1943 the average mpg was around 17.5 mpg and in 2014 it is at around 25 mpg. With all the technological advances (mostly DARPA's...benefiting the military and computing science of course) we couldn't have escalated the average mpg more than 43%? Well, of course we can, we just aren't allowed. Take a look at some diesel models available in the U.K. if you want to get your panties in a wad!

Crony Capitalism is the problem! I'm all for free markets but that is not the system in place. The appearance of a free market is there but the reality is that we are more or less farmed in this country! Just my observation.

Well said sir.

[rico]

When speaking of fuel consumption in dollars compared to annual income, the travesty is in mpg. In 1943 the average mpg was around 17.5 mpg and in 2014 it is at around 25 mpg. With all the technological advances (mostly DARPA's...benefiting the military and computing science of course) we couldn't have escalated the average mpg more than 43%? Well, of course we can, we just aren't allowed. Take a look at some diesel models available in the U.K. if you want to get your panties in a wad!

Crony Capitalism is the problem! I'm all for free markets but that is not the system in place. The appearance of a free market is there but the reality is that we are more or less farmed in this country! Just my observation.

Your observation is dead on.

[CPace]

When speaking of fuel consumption in dollars compared to annual income, the travesty is in mpg. In 1943 the average mpg was around 17.5 mpg and in 2014 it is at around 25 mpg. With all the technological advances (mostly DARPA's...benefiting the military and computing science of course) we couldn't have escalated the average mpg more than 43%? Well, of course we can, we just aren't allowed. Take a look at some diesel models available in the U.K. if you want to get your panties in a wad!

Crony Capitalism is the problem! I'm all for free markets but that is not the system in place. The appearance of a free market is there but the reality is that we are more or less farmed in this country! Just my observation.

Don't know how much truth there is in the story my Dad always told.  He lived next to a guy who was a mechanic.  the guy built a carb for his car and one for his pickup, and they both averaged him over 50 mpg, on V8's.  The guy sold his "plans" to GM, with the promise to NEVER sell the vehicles to anyone else with those carbs on them, and he could not make anymore to go with any other vehicle he owned (all signed in a contract).  Kind'a bites, huh?

[rico]

Don't know how much truth there is in the story my Dad always told.  He lived next to a guy who was a mechanic.  the guy built a carb for his car and one for his pickup, and they both averaged him over 50 mpg, on V8's.  The guy sold his "plans" to GM, with the promise to NEVER sell the vehicles to anyone else with those carbs on them, and he could not make anymore to go with any other vehicle he owned (all signed in a contract).  Kind'a bites, huh?

How much money did GM pay him?

[wax_worm]

How much money did GM pay him?

I hope enough for him and his kids to retire from that day forward.  If not he made a bad decision.

I find this a bit hard to believe only because if it was that 'easy' to build a carb to get that kind of mileage, you would see them for sale on the internet.  Today's technology is too good and engineers are too smart for someone not to have also figured this out, be able to reproduce it for a line of vehicles or several lines of vehicles and then sell it over the web or at the zillion auto parts stores in every town.  If it really worked with no negative effects on the vehicle performance, millions of people would pay for this and install it after the factory warranty was up.  Even if priced high you would recoup the cost in a years time driving 10-12 K miles in today's V8 trucks.  I am not saying the big 3 can't make vehicles with higher MPG.  We all know they can, and it is the big oil lobby that keeps it from happening.  But big oil or the big 3 can't stop someone with an idea that works from building aftermarket carbs that would do this.  They may try to tangle you up in all kinds of legal stuff if you infringe on patents, but if it is a unique design, they could not stop it.

[rico]

When talking about this stuff I always remember the movie "The Pelican Brief".

I cant recall how long ago it was, but some company had a contest for college students to build a car that ran on an alternative fuel source.  If I remember right a group of students from Purdue had a car that won it.  Their fuel source was hydrogen.  I remember reading the article, it ended with about 3 paragraphs of why hydrogen couldn't be used as a viable fuel source because of its volativity.  But the kids were very ingenius to come up with it. 

[sprkplug]

The mysterious, disappearing magic carburetor story has been around for decades. One version claims it was the automakers who "paid off" the inventor, while another says it was big oil, concerned that better gas mileage would destroy their bottom line.

Oddly, no such carb or inventor has ever been located. At least, not one who's story could be proven true.

[Jigmup]

The mysterious, disappearing magic carburetor story has been around for decades. One version claims it was the automakers who "paid off" the inventor, while another says it was big oil, concerned that better gas mileage would destroy their bottom line.

Oddly, no such carb or inventor has ever been located. At least, not one who's story could be proven true.

Exactly! ....But, 50 -60 mpg turbo diesels are a reality, just not in this country!

[Rebelss]

THAT one was a favorite when I was a mechanic. Ranked right up there with the water injection kits you could buy for your vehicle to double your gas mileage. Put one on my 360 Dodge 4 bbl  with duallies just for giggles. Did nothing at all except make your mixture denser and fire like crap. Ranked right up there with the "magnetic gas line" thingy. 

[sprkplug]

Ah, the magnetic fuel line miracle. Because it's critical to have all the gasoline molecules aligned properly before entering the carburetor.

[rico]

Exactly! ....But, 50 -60 mpg turbo diesels are a reality, just not in this country!

Heck the farmers around here need that!!!!!!!!

[CPace]

How much money did GM pay him?

That, I never new, I guess the guy was tight lipped about it.  According to my Dad, it was enough to retire on, at least back then!

[wallin]

I do remember a lot of what has been discussed on this topic.
I was 7 in 1945 when WWII ended and remember going to the Grocery in Hobart with my Mother and sister so we could buy sugar. There was a limit on most items.  One coupon per person, for soap, sugar and things like that. We were fortunate as my Father had a good job with US  Steel and he usually could get gas coupons so he could get to work, 14 cents a gallon! I remember one time, the "Ladies" were all lined up at the A&P Grocery as they had just gotten a delivery of laundry soap. My Mother got the last box and another woman hit her in the head with another box of detergent! Became a family joke. That was the violence back then.

We had a "Royal Blue" Grocery Store in Hobart! For some reason they were able to get "Bubble Gum" when other stores couldn't. One piece for a nickle. Was about the size of a nickle round and about 3/4" long. Would last for days. That old song about putting it on the bed post at night? You bet!! Had to last until the next delivery at the Royal Blue Store!!!
My Mother would give me 15 cents to walk 3 blocks to Pavel's neighborhood Grocery Store, in the front of their house.
14 cents for a loaf of bread and a penny for candy. Didn't have a lot but was a wonderful time to grow up!!!!
I had a pair of pants for play, one for church and a pair of  knickers with a pair of knee high socks. Cool Man!!!
Teach

You didn't tell the part of no tenni shoes and the sock suspenders lol.

[800stealth]

Exactly! ....But, 50 -60 mpg turbo diesels are a reality, just not in this country!

Ummm... You can get them here... Both Chevy and VW sell turbo diesels that get 55+ mpg here state side.

[Hoosier]

Ya know Teach, I have several buddies (70`s,80`s & 90`s) that I visit just to sit and listen to the times they have had. I appreciate the facts & stories they have known for more years than I have been alive. With the down time we have, think I will start a thread where I hope our older generation would share some of there "Stories of life" with us.

I`m thinking Teach wont mind that I moved his story over to the new thread. As it is the one that made me do it.. lol