Your not looking at inflation per se.
The auto industry saw a market for high end cars created by the economic bubbles and loose credit. They built cars accordingly. Development cost were spread over the product line.
Same thing happened to the HiFi industry. I know of companies who told their engineers to create products that they could charge exorbitant prices for without actually producing a product that warranted the high price. The sales department was told to sell a need for more of the products than were actually required.