Economists can make all the arguments they want about adjustments for inflation, but when you recall what gas once sold for, the nostalgia is not so much for a specific price point but for the freedom that came with going out for a long, casual drive without worrying it would break the bank. The “See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet” song was not directed at a nation nervous about the expense of filling up the tank.
In 1950, a gallon of gas cost approximately 27 cents; by 1970 it had only gone up to approximately 35 cents. The highways were just waiting; as Dan Seals sang in his wonderful, if underappreciated, ode to the joys of driving, “My Old Yellow Car”:
“There was no road too winding and nowhere too far/With two bucks of gas and my old yellow car.”
You remember your time on Earth by the mileposts along the way — somewhere in the back of your mind, you know the price of gas the first time you ever bought a gallon, and the price of a postage stamp the first time you were aware they existed.