How much has technological innovation impacted prices?

Howdy,

I’ve got a question that I don’t know exactly how to put into words so let me just start with an example.

I’ve worked as a flight instructor for about 2 years. In doing so, I fly really old aircraft from around the 50’s-70’s. These aircraft are incredibly simple equipment wise: no A/C, basically no electronics in the cockpit (unless they’ve been added of course), relatively worse engines and airframes, etc. And of course, these aircraft are cheaper. They were even affordable to buy in the times they were created. I also get to fly new aircraft, they’ve got air conditioning, glass instruments, fuel injection, advanced safety features with air bags, better fuel efficiency, the list goes on. The side effect: these once affordable single engine aircraft now sell for $490,000 new.

Take this same example and apply it to everything else in life. Cars, houses, etc. have obviously come a long way. You don’t have to prime your car to start, every car is sold as an automatic transmission, they’ve nearly all got excellent crash ratings, meet emission limits, etc. The same would go for houses. Central heating/air conditioning, 2300 sq ft homes compared to the 1600 sq ft homes of the 60’s, compliance with fire and safety regulations, etc.

Here lies my question. Obviously inflation has driven up the prices of houses, homes, food, etc. But how much has the simple improvement in technology of everything in our lives drove up prices? Would there be a market to sell new cars for like $15k that just don’t simply have the same safety features and amenities of modern cars?

I say this as many homes and cars are becoming too expensive and out of reach for many American’s. Part of me wonders if the level of technology involved is not sustainable.