I sometimes wonder what drives the cost of Colt over other manufacturers.
I own a Defender and a 6920. I didn't see the cost of the Defender being out of line
with other 1911s at that time. I bought it in the late 90s and paid about 780 IIRC.
The AR I got NIB but on sale for 1040 I think with some freebies thrown it. MSRP was more.
Now, I could have got a S&W AR or other brand for less. I didn't do it for threereasons. 1. The freebies were worth about a hundred, no freebies with other ARs at that time. 2. I think that within my lifetime Colt may be gone or not making ARs for civvies. So, resale potential on Colt might justify extra price. 3. The first gun I paid much attention to was my M16A1 I was issued in the USAR. It was a Colt and was made in Hartford (almost certain) in 1967.
I lived in Conn. and must say that I believe that Colt probably has some high costs related to doing business there. Certainly compared to the companies in the south. However, Mossberg and Savage are also in Conn. and no one would call them expensive. BTW, when you drive by Colt on 1-95 (or is it 295, don't remember) in Hartford, it looks like shit.