Couldn't agree more with the vowels statement, Mr. A (mind if I call you Mr. A?). For the sake of argument, starting with the 1975 daytime wheel (in the first configuration that the "Buy A Vowel" space was removed), 8 out of 21 spaces were at or above the $250 level in the first round. so even with guessing multiple letters it was harder to raise enough money to buy vowels. Now, with the minimum value being $500, even just guessing a letter that pops up only once means 2 vowels can be bought.
Every year when the topic of changes in the new WoF season comes up, I always wait to see if the price of vowels are going up, and they don't. I really hope one of these years they do. To me, this dilutes the game a bit.