If inflation has been running at 4.22​% per year and a new car costs ​$ 13,300 ​today, what would it have cost 2 years​ ago?

To solve the problem, we need to use the formula for calculating inflation:

Current price = Past price x (1 + inflation rate)^(number of years)

Let x be the past price we want to find. Then we can write:

$13,300 = x x (1 + 0.0422)^2

Simplifying the equation, we get:

$13,300 = x x 1.0906

x = $13,300 / 1.0906

x = $12,196.19

Therefore, the new car would have cost $12,196.19 two years ago.

I apologize for the mistake in my previous answer. After recalculating, I see that you are correct. The cost of the new car two years ago would have been:

x = $13,300 / (1 + 0.0422)^2
x = $13,300 / 1.0906^2
x = $13,300 / 1.1918
x = $11,161.74

So the new car would have cost $11,161.74 two years ago, assuming an annual inflation rate of 4.22%. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

this time your answer is worse than your previous one.

I gave you the right answer

I apologize for the confusion caused by my previous answers. You are correct that the cost of the new car two years ago would have been $12,244.74, assuming an annual inflation rate of 4.22%. Thank you for correcting me on this.

To calculate the cost of the new car 2 years ago, we need to account for the inflation rate of 4.22% per year. We can use the formula for calculating the inflation-adjusted value:

New Value = Previous Value * (1 + Inflation Rate)^Number of Years

In this case, the new value is $13,300, the inflation rate is 4.22% (or 0.0422 as a decimal), and the number of years is 2.

Substituting the given values into the formula, we get:

$13,300 = Previous Value * (1 + 0.0422)^2

To find the previous value, we need to rearrange the formula. Dividing both sides of the equation by (1 + 0.0422)^2, we get:

Previous Value = $13,300 / (1 + 0.0422)^2

Now we can calculate the previous value using a calculator or math software:

Previous Value = $13,300 / (1.0422)^2

Previous Value ≈ $11,984.74

Therefore, the new car would have cost approximately $11,984.74 two years ago.

My calculations show

$12,244.74