In real terms, however, the cost of a tank of gas is about what it was in the 1960s[1]. Today's average is $3.63[2], which is about $0.34 in 1960 dollars.
How much was an iPhone or Xbox in 1960 dollars? What was the typical cable TV bill? What did a typical American pay for a California roll or a burrito in 1960? Alternatively, given your 10x price boost, why isnt the cost of a television set or vacuum cleaner in the multiple thousands?
Anything that is manufactured has a multitude of factors that will reduce cost of a product significantly over time. If the circuitry in an Xbox were constructed in 1960 no government on the planet would have been able to afford it. It would also be difficult to find enough power to run it or a place big enough to build it with the technology of the time.
It's then interesting to see how that looks in different economic brackets. Maybe in one bracket a car costs 1000 hours, and in another the same car costs 350 hours (so might as well get a 700 hour car. Still cheaper).
I think this isn't a measure of inflation per se, because productivity changes are big over the decades. But I do think looking at costs in terms of hours of work is really helpful.
I think back to an event in some HS extracurricular when a group of students got to ask questions of a gubernatorial candidate, and one kid asked if he was going to do anything to make college more affordable at state schools, and this candidate (perhaps keenly aware that almost none of the students could vote) basically laughed it off and talked about working at restaurants to put himself through school (I think in the 70s). How many hours of (unskilled?) labor was a semester of tuition then, versus 30 years later? How many hours was a tankful of gas, or rent for half an apartment, or a heating bill? How feasible is it really to work one's way through even a public school?