Off-Topic The Car Thread

[2FNFST4U]

@JD08 good call on hybrids, from Reuters today

U.S. sales of gas-electric hybrid vehicles have accelerated this year, and automakers and suppliers are doubling down on investments that count on demand for hybrids to keep growing for years to come – notwithstanding California’s call to phase out all combustion vehicles by 2035.

We should phase out California

 

[JD08]

 

[SpikeUM]

FWIW, Mercedes quality was panned in a recent Consumer Reports

Memorial Day sale-a-brations return​

Welcome back to a much-missed feature of pre-pandemic, pre-supply chain chaos life in the United States: Memorial Day weekend car and truck discount deals. Cox Automotive, which tracks a wide range of dealer activity and market data, heralded the return of Memorial Day deal-making this week. Driving the discounts: U.S. new vehicle inventories at the start of May were at the highest level since late 2020, Cox said. Not all brands need to dig deep to get customers in the door. Toyota had just 30 days’ worth of unsold vehicles as of May 1 – a lean supply, according to Cox data. But Mercedes (92 days) Ford (100 days) Jeep and Ram (over 150 days) all need to move the iron.

 

[SpikeUM]

Americans drive ancient cars​

If U.S. auto dealers are sweating harder to make sales, it isn’t because consumers don’t need new rides. The average age of vehicles on the road in the United States hit a new record of 12.6 years old, S&P Global reported. The U.S. market isn’t Havana – famous for its preserved in amber Detroit classics. But it’s headed in that direction as high prices and high insurance costs put a new car out of reach of more consumers. Old sedans are driving the aging of the U.S. vehicle fleet. The average passenger car on the road is 14 years old, compared to 11.9 years old for the average truck, according to S&P data. The aging U.S. car and truck fleet – 70% of the 286 million vehicles on the road are 6 to 14 years old – are a potential bonanza for after-sale service and parts businesses, S&P said. Soon my 1961 Dodge Town Wagon will just be a slightly older than average truck, not a coelacanth with four wheels.

 

[JD08]

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​ Americans drive ancient cars​

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​ If U.S. auto dealers are sweating harder to make sales, it isn’t because consumers don’t need new rides. The average age of vehicles on the road in the United States hit a new record of 12.6 years old, S&P Global reported. The U.S. market isn’t Havana – famous for its preserved in amber Detroit classics. But it’s headed in that direction as high prices and high insurance costs put a new car out of reach of more consumers. Old sedans are driving the aging of the U.S. vehicle fleet. The average passenger car on the road is 14 years old, compared to 11.9 years old for the average truck, according to S&P data. The aging U.S. car and truck fleet – 70% of the 286 million vehicles on the road are 6 to 14 years old – are a potential bonanza for after-sale service and parts businesses, S&P said. Soon my 1961 Dodge Town Wagon will just be a slightly older than average truck, not a coelacanth with four wheels.

Maybe adding all the nannies and talk of kill switches and GPS tracking have caused the average buyer to rethink a new car until absolutely needed. Or maybe the economy is ****tier for the average consumer than the macro charts indicate and people are hesitant to finance an expensive vehicle at high rates and pay even higher insurance rates for it.

 

[SpikeUM]

Maybe adding all the nannies and talk of kill switches and GPS tracking have caused the average buyer to rethink a new car until absolutely needed. Or maybe the economy is ****tier for the average consumer than the macro charts indicate and people are hesitant to finance an expensive vehicle at high rates and pay even higher insurance rates for it.

Its the latter. I had an extra car for fun but when the lease was up, a new lease on the same car was going to cost almost $200 a month more, plus insurance is now well over $2,000 a car, so I just turned it in. And I can afford it, imagine the poor folks that cant.

BTW, repair costs on new cars are also ridiculous, because of all of the new technology.

 

[JD08]

Its the latter. I had an extra car for fun but when the lease was up, a new lease on the same car was going to cost almost $200 a month more, plus insurance is now well over $2,000 a car, so I just turned it in. And I can afford it, imagine the poor folks that cant.

BTW, repair costs on new cars are also ridiculous, because of all of the new technology.

I'd tend to agree. I have a truck and an old car. I debated getting rid of the old one, but the youngest will be driving next year and I'll be stuck at home with no transportation. And I don't really want to get rid of it because I love it.