O.k. - just because it's old doesn't mean it's a clunker.
There still could be plenty of good miles left on that engine.
A Southfield-based auto research firm says Americans are holding onto their cars and trucks for a longer period of time.
The average age has reached a record 10.8 years, according to Polk.
From the Associated Press:
The Polk research firm said Tuesday that the average age of a car last July was 11.1 years, while the truck average was 10.4. Unemployment and the sour economy have caused people to put off buying cars and trucks. Polk says the average vehicle age has been rising since 2008. But the firm says a sales rebound last year is likely to slow the aging rate. Car companies sold 12.8 million vehicles in the U.S. last year, up from 11.6 million in 2010. In 2010 the average vehicle on U.S. roads was 10.6 years old, up from 10 years in 2008.
The numbers for the Polk analysis come from national auto registration data.
The group estimates that as of July 2011, there were 240,504,646 cars and trucks on the road - down from a record of 242,081,704 cars and trucks on the road in July 2008.
The average age of vehicles on the road has climbed steadily in just about every year since 1995, when the average age was 8.4 years.
In its press release, Polk said the vehicle market is changing:
Polk expects this trend may change in the coming years as CUV and small SUV populations in the U.S. market have risen in 2010 and 2011 due to their continued success in the market. Additionally, the rebound in new vehicle sales in 2011 and for the next couple of years will most likely slow down the aging rate seen in the market over the past three years, according to Polk.
