Posted on 06/07/2024 11:36:29 AM PDT by karpov
It’s not just the political class. America’s fleet of cars and trucks is also getting long in the tooth. Last month a study by S&P Global Mobility reported the average age of vehicles in the U.S. was 12.6 years, up more than 14 months since 2014. Singling out passenger cars, the number jumps to a geriatric 14 years.
In the past, the average-age statistic was taken as a sign of transportation’s burden on household budgets. Those burdens remain near all-time highs. The average transaction price of a new vehicle is currently hovering around $47,000. While inflation and interest rates are backing away from recent highs, insurance premiums have soared by double digits in the past year.
Many buyers are now surfing on waves of vehicle depreciation, picking up used and off-lease cars and trucks still under warranty for thousands less than new. That’s smart. Your Dutch uncle approves. But lately another, stranger element is showing up in the numbers: a motivated belief among consumers that automakers’ latest and greatest offerings—whether powered by gasoline, batteries or a hybrid system—are inferior to the products they are replacing.
That’s different. Americans have been trained from a young age that the New is better than Old, especially coming from the car industry, the people who brought you tail fins, planned obsolescence and generous trade-in allowances. Who are these wild-eyed dissidents?
In fact, new-car deniers form a broad coalition of the unpersuaded. Some fear that new, digitally connected vehicles could expose their personal information to the Chinese—or worse, to their insurance agencies. Other modern marvels people seem eager to avoid include stop/start cycling systems, which shut off engines to save fuel when vehicles are stationary, now all but mandatory in new vehicles; continuously variable transmissions (CVTs), commonly found in compact vehicles with small-displacement engines
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
[Thanks for the link]
“This is one of the many reasons I encourage consumers to jump to EVs and avoid the bitter end of combustion technology.”
BS...these ev’s are disasters on wheels unless all you want is a grocery getter. If you want to go anywhere, use ice.
Its not just the electrogizmos that put me off; its the mandated connection with clouds that take and store God knows what info. For who knows what purpose...but I always impute the nefarious ones so I am never disappointed.
I will keep my 2000 and 2003 as long as its humanly possible.
I bought a low miles, well maintained, one owner 2013 Tacoma last year. The late 2nd generation Tacomas are the high point of the model imo. There is an issue of frame rust in areas of snow and salt, but this was a New Mexico truck.
Due to the Gov. regulations, the engines are getting smaller, so the new cars have less power. They put turbo in, which doesn’t work too well. Turning off at stop is major problem, destroying battery and starter motor.
On my 2019 Jeep, I found out, they added special battery, just for this restart. They found no easy place to put it so they hid it somewhere in the middle of the engine. It cost me $400 just to replace it. A lot more than I could ever save on gas!
Manual Transmission in 2024?...
Wow....that’s awesome. I didn’t even know you could get a manual for them anymore.
Did you have to pay extra for it?
Spent 300 bucks to get a chip to disable that and other nanny systems on my 22 gladiator
I get it to some extent. I really don’t like the new gigantic color LCD dashes that are coming in to new cars. I’m fine wih old-school needle gauges and manual controls for heating/AC etc.
I have an ‘05 F350 V8 Turbo-diesel. It has 190k miles on it and runs great, it looks good and rides like new.
It blows a little blue smoke on first startup and for about 300 feet down the road, then, nothing.
It gets me 18.3 mpg freeway at 70 mph.
I won’t sell it, although several local people have expressed an interest in buying it.
Todays new cars simply don’t interest me..
Which jeep?
Wranglers have it stashed in the freaking back quarter panel of the car. Back left if I remember right.
They stashed it under the main battery on the gladiator….
I also have a 2012 V6 Double cab long bed 4WD Tacoma. $30K brand new invoice price. It now has 110m miles. It is the best quality vehicle I have ever owned. Better than the tow previous Tacoma/Toyota 4WD pick ups.
I understand the new ones do not have a V6 option anymore. Just a turbo charged 4 cylinder.
I also hate this new start/stop turn off the engine every time you come to a stop on so many new vehicles. My wife and son both have a Honda CRV. The wife’s is about 5 years old. You can turn that “ECO Drive” OFF. Which she did. My son has a 2022 CRV. It also has the ECO drive. Except you have to turn it off every time you get in the car. That is a STUPID Idea. It has to be bad for your starter.
Congrats....these things run forever. You should be good for a long time.
And not Im sure if you know this...but you could tell Toyota had a huge amount of confidence in the Tacoma’s back then based off the warrantees they offered.
For example, when I was looking to buy the vehicle in 2012, I was also looking at the Tundra.
The Tacoma came with a 12 YEAR powertrain warrantee on it...(they called it lifetime, but I found out later it was 12 years).
The Tundra only came with a five year powertrain that same year.
Toyota basically new the Tacomas were virtually indestructible back then.
Skate cheap.
Where is the value in driving a depreciating value fixed cost debt that depreciates as fast as your monthly car payment and insurance adds up?
I haven't paid more than $3500 dollars for a nice driving vehicle in 30 years. We plan on one last purchase of a Subaru Wagon when we find the right deal, to replace the Dodge Grand Caravan. It spent a decade in Chicago and the rust rot in the usual places on the undercarriage is taking its toll. I tried welding an exhaust bracket back on and the arc just evaporates the rust. It has no good steel to weld to underneath. Looks great though from the driveway.
I remember the late 1970s when we all worried if there would be gasoline in the future. The auto industry was converting from leaded gas to lead free, the Arab oil Embargo was on and the government was trying to get us into battery driven cars like the Citicar. Saw many on the car lots but never saw one on the streets.
Then it all blew over and we bought used autos with the block in the gas fill tube reamed out for the still cheaper leaded gas.
The final reason why cars are lasting longer is tide to the post Covid reduction in commuting to and from an office and to the aging population and retirement of Baby Boomers.
If you live in a densely packed urban center with lots of public transportation, an automobile isn’t quite as important; and pollution is more of an issue.
If you live in a sparsely inhabited rural area, an automobile is more important; and pollution is less of a problem.
Democrats dominate the urban areas. Republicans dominate the rural areas. One of these two doesn’t care as much if cars are expensive and unaffordable, and therefore doesn’t mind making them pricey and unobtainable. Hmmm.... I wonder which group that is?
Thankfully I have my trucks from 1997 and 2001. Both with less than 60 000 miles on them. No way I would buy a new auto today!
Nobody can afford these new car prices!
Even leases are way too expensive.
Soon, the entire auto industry will switch to electrics and it will become even more expensive.
Insurance companies will refuse to cover EVs, so only the rich will have personal transportation.
Common folk will be riding cattle cars....................
Had a customer in yesterday that had just bought a brand new Kia for his wife (he’s 79). Was telling me about all the bells and whistles on it. I told him all those bells and whistles are EXACTLY why I will drive my 2000 Kia Sportage until it dies, and then probably have my husband put another engine in it.
Who can buy new? I was looking at new trucks for work. $75,000 base models were about starting prices for anything.
“These suck.”
Rented a Volvo (not my choice) years ago that did that shut off at a stop thing. Alarmed the hell out me that the damn thing was breaking down. Being a Vovlo, it was already weird, that shutting off almost had me returning it to Budget.
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