According to CPI Inflation Calculator, $24k in 1995 has the buying power of $49,129.10 today. Plug in some numbers from years when you remember cars being inexpensive, and see how much they’re equivalent to today.
That $.30 gallon of gas in 1960 is equivalent to $3.15 today.
The 1996 Geo Prism I bought for $15k (my first brand new car), doesn’t seem like such a good value anymore!
Here’s $24,000. Buy something new in 1995
My dad bought a 1970 Corvette new in 1970 (when he was 20). He grew up on a farm, and made some lucky moves trading in the commodities market. In 1969, he talked a neighbor into letting him rent some land, used his dad’s farm equipment to plant/harvest some soy beans, sold them, invested the ~$500 he earned, then turned that into $5k with some well timed futures contracts. In 1975, he sold the car for the same as he paid and was able to make a substantial down payment on a duplex house that he still owns as a rental property. The modern analog is probably kids that were buying Lambos after making bank in the crypto markets.