Every fourth family in Israel owns a car notwithstanding the extremely high cost of private vehicles and a much higher percentage owns major household appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines and TV sets, a recent survey by the Central Bureau of Statistics disclosed.
A standard Volkswagen “Beetle,” probably the cheapest car on the market, costs the equivalent of $10,000, including taxes, which is over 30 times the average monthly wage in Israel. The survey showed a co-relation between car ownership and education. Fifty-five percent of the heads of families with cars had 13 or more years of education who owned cars.
The survey, conducted between July-September, 1977 showed a continuing upward trend in the purchase of cars and costly household appliances.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.