Helga's Locket / Sid and Germs - S5-E7
Other mistake: Helga's Locket: When Helga climbs to the top of the boarding house and looks at Arnold and Grandpa through the window, as Arnold tells Grandpa, "It's embarrassing and weird," Helga's left sleeve is incorrectly coloured pink instead of white. (00:09:02)
Helga's Locket / Sid and Germs - S5-E7
Other mistake: Helga's Locket: When Arnold and Grandpa are in the basement and Arnold says that they need the Shiska-Bob Stick, a small portion of the brown paper bag on the workbench is missing. (00:10:06)
Helga's Locket / Sid and Germs - S5-E7
Other mistake: Helga's Locket: When Helga first sneaks into the boarding house, Grandpa is shown trying to open the locket. When the camera pans over to Helga and stops, a small part of Grandpa is still visible; then he disappears mid-shot. (00:03:25)
Answer: The show is based in present day times. Plus most cars aren't old fashtioned, I recall seeing a limo and not to mention a cherry picker, etc.