I remember gasoline at 19.9¢ during a gas war, and that was in a high tax state where the total gas tax was about 14¢.

But, in about the same era, I remember my first job out of high school paying $1.47/hr, and my first job out of college (with an engineering degree) paying $3.70/hr. And I remember my car getting about 13 mpg (highway) on that cheap gas.