Driving Classics: The Average Car On Road In The U.S. Is Now 11.5 Years Old

In the age of Apple’s CarPlay, a lot of cars on the road still have tape decks.

The average vehicle in the U.S. is now a record 11.5 years old, according to consulting firm IHS Automotive, a sign of the increased reliability of today’s vehicles and the lingering impact of the sharp drop in new car sales during the recession.

Drivers behind the wheel of older cars aren’t enjoying some of the latest advanced safety features or infotainment systems that effectively turn cars into cellphones on wheels. Then again, they don’t have to worry about hackers finding their way in to the car’s computer network through the cassette or CD player.

IHS said U.S. registrations grew to a record 257.9 million cars and trucks, up 2 percent from a year earlier.

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MDarringer - 7/29/2015 11:58:27 AM

0 Boost

I would wonder whether the number will rise. During the recession, people were not buying as many cars and were holding on to the ones they had. That is probably the cause for the increase. With car sales going gang busters at the moment, it would not surprise me if the average length of ownership number decreases.

TomM - 7/29/2015 12:23:41 PM

+2 Boost

Years ago - cars lasted much longer than people thought they did. It was not uncommon for a used car dealer to take 50,000 miles off the odometer to resell a car. Later - people leasing cars often (When it was mechanical) disconnected the speedometer cable so the mile would not accrue. So that 100,000 mile car probably died with 150-200,000 miles.

Today - you cannot set the miles back easily - nor can you disconnect the speedometer at all (Without that input the trans won't shift) - so the cars show their mileage - but people simply cannot afford to buy newe cars at the rate they did 40 years ago - they don't make enough money. However - the cars are actually quite reliable today - and there is often no reason to get rid of them until they really fall apart. And even then - you can build a worked 5 liter engine and put it into a still solid Panther body - and get a fun ride.

What will end that though is the electronic controls - you need an older car to move engines and transmissions around - the new ones electronics rely to much on them to make it possible for the average backyard mechanic to make it work. And it is the electronic failures that will doom the cars - mechanical failures are much less common.

TheSteve - 7/29/2015 12:32:10 PM

+2 Boost

re Article: "...Drivers behind the wheel of older cars aren’t enjoying some of the latest advanced safety features or infotainment systems..."

Some people believe they must get the latest and greatest, because it's the best. In fact, some of them are downloading Windows 10 right now.

Meanwhile, other people don't swallow the hype that "new = better", so they're less inclined to line up for the latest iPhone, snap up an Apple Watch, or constantly replace their car because a new model is out with the latest buzzword or gizmo.

MDarringer - 7/29/2015 7:14:43 PM

-1 Boost

Given that the newer cars can be hacked and used as weapons, perhaps older cars are better.

If you're an EMP person, you really want OLD cars.

MrEE - 7/29/2015 7:57:35 PM

+2 Boost

I would like to see the distribution curve by region. I assume they exclude antique registered vehicles. I certainly see many Honda and Toyota cars back to the nineties on the road. Other brands often rust significantly closer to 10 years here in the Midwest. Around here mainstream trucks seem to rust fast and I would be surprised if the avg age was ever longer than cars.

I don't see many European brands older than 10 years likely end up being too expensive to fix. This may explain why average age in Europe is running around 8 years. Where do all those older German brands end up?

I am the original owner of 98 and may only replace it if rust sets in or for better fuel economy.