Wheel lugs

This is a mundane, non intellectual posting, but I get some traffic due to search engine hits on words from my archives, partially because my posts vary so much. So this qualifies as atypical, not unlike me.

Though my '91 Ford Explorer runs pretty well, it has a variety of ills, and one that nagged at me was that the lugs nuts on this era of ford were made really crappy (crapily?). For some reason they thought they would dress the little lugs up, so they pressed these silly metal caps on them for decoration. Trouble is, a few years of torque on these things and the caps split, and peel off, revealing a rusty nut underneath. And the nut that left is an odd size that doesn't fit any standard wrench. What, was I going to carry an 18mm socket and a rachet with me in case of a tire problem? Time for a picture:

You can see a "good one" on the left, a split cap, a beat up one, and the rusty nut that is left when they inevitably fail. Then the solid new replacement on the right.

I guess the real reason I started this post, other than the embarrassment Ford will feel in this blazing exposé, was that I am stuck in the old days when it comes to money. Everything surprises me. I rolled down to Auto Zone intent on replacing them all, couldn't cost too much. I was thinking five bucks for some lugs. Well they were 1.49 each: 5 lugs x 4 wheels=20 == $29.80 plus tax. Over 30 bucks! I am a relic. They do look better though.