[linear]

Anyone know what the average age of a car on the road today in the USA is? I'm curious how long it would take to swap out say 10% of the vehicle fleet.

I've been hearing alot about ultracapacitors lately and if it ever works out that will be the next big thing. Of course we'll burn alot of coal to charge the things but thats another story.

[frankthetank]

MY guess would be about 8 years? You don't really see many cars on the road that were built in the 80's (atleast up here). Sometimes you'll see a Honda or Toyota

[green_achers]

When I was a kid in the 60s, every teenager had a '55-59 Chevy or Ford in the driveway they were forever rebuilding. A 10-year-old car or one with more than 60K was junk. Nowadays, they seem to last a lot longer. I have a '01 Ranger with over 135K and a '96 Corolla that I plan to drive for a long time.

[Twilight]

I agree, build quality has greatly improved. Here in the UK, I would guess the average age of a car is around 10 years, but even the mid-90s stuff has no visible signs of rust. Whereas in the 90s you would see lots of 80s cars with clearly visible rust on bodywork. Lots of people were driving stuff that was literally falling apart. It's been years since I saw an exhaust drop away, but I used to see it several times a year. The 100,000 mile mark is easily achieved these days. In fact, it would have to be an exceptionally bad car to fail to get there.

[joewp]

Wikipedia knows all:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')In 2005 the overall median age for automobiles was 8.9 years, a significant increase over 1990 when the median age of vehicles in operation in the US was 6.5 years and 1969 when the mean age for automobiles was 5.1 years.[8] Of all body styles, pick-up trucks had the highest mean age (9.4 years), followed by cars with a mean age of 8.4 years and van with a mean age of 7.0 years. As SUVs are part of a relatively new consumer trend originating mostly in the 1990s, SUVs had the lowest mean age of any body style in the US (6.1 years). The average recreational vehicle was even older with a mean age of 12.5. The mean age has increased continuously for all body styles from 1969 to 2005.[8]

[pup55]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')UVs had the lowest mean age of any body style in the US (6.1 years).

[SILENTTODD]

It’s possible and cheaper to keep a vehicle running and in shape for 20 years or longer with proper maintenance. Even if you have to rebuild or replace the engine and transmission your way ahead of putting out enormous sums every 2 to 5 years buying a new Car or Truck!

I drive a 1987 Nissan pickup with a 4 cylinder engine. Have 301,0000 miles on it. Have replaced the starter 3 times, the water pump and fuel pump once, and had the transmission rebuilt 10,000 miles ago. Everything else but the brake and muffler system(par for the course) is original. Change your Oil every 3000 miles!

I paid this Vehicle off 16 years ago. I pay the minimum for registration and insurance each year. I am far better off than many of my coworkers I see buying new SUVs or BMW’s or Hummer’s every 2 or 3 years!

A book that convinced me of this you can still get on the Barnes&Noble website under Used and Out of Print books is:

Why Trade It In? by George and Suzanne Fremon

I have a 1982 edition of this book and it changed my life about repeatedly buying new cars! If you are reading this site, and know what is coming, I would advise you to hold on to what ever vehicle you have now. Make it last. And start looking at the best bicycle you can get (maybe 2 or 3 as I have!).

[I_Like_Plants]

Here ya go......

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006/02 ... _flee.html

[Newsseeker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pup55', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')UVs had the lowest mean age of any body style in the US (6.1 years).

[joewp]

When I hear these discussions about replacing the vehicle fleet, two thoughts go through my mind:

1) Doesn't anybody realize that building cars takes from 20 to 50 barrels of oil? Perhaps it would be better to keep the current fleet on the road than use up all the oil just for making more disposable cars?

and

2) Will you people give it up! The happy motoring age is going to be over sooner than you think. Switching to marginally more efficient vehicles will only extend the driving around for a short time, if at all. Even if you manage to increase gas mileage by 20% (a lofty goal), that will be wiped out in less than 10 years just by population and economic growth.

[FairMaiden]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')And start looking at the best bicycle you can get

[shortonoil]

Newsseeker said:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')t would take an executive order and federal troops for people to let go of their SUVs.

[MonteQuest]

From the Hirsch Report:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he average age of U.S. automobiles is nine years. Under normal conditions, replacement of only half the automobile fleet will require 10-15 years. The average age of light trucks is seven years.
Under normal conditions, replacement of one-half of the stock of light trucks will require 9-14 years. While significant improvements in fuel efficiency are possible in automobiles and light trucks, any affordable approach to upgrading will be inherently time-consuming, requiring more than a decade to achieve significant
overall fuel efficiency improvement.