Autoblog

Polk: People continuing to keep vehicles longer

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:32:00 EST

Consumers are keeping their automobiles for longer periods than ever before, according to a study performed by the survey gurus at R. L. Polk & Co. For anyone keeping track of such things, this news comes as little surprise - average length of ownership has been steadily increasing at an average rate of 3.7 percent annually.

Since the global economic meltdown and the devastating effect it had on the world's automakers in 2008, that average length of ownership has increased dramatically at a clip of more than 14 percent. The hard data shows that consumers are keeping their machines for 63.9 months on average, up 4.5 months from the same time last year.

Polk comes to a couple of conclusions from this data. First, the automotive aftermarket stands to benefit from older vehicles remaining on the road. Second, automakers have a big opportunity to get people buying more new cars to replace the rapidly aging vehicles currently in their driveways. Want more? Click past the break for the official press release.

[Source: R. L. Polk & Co. | Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty]

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Polk: People continuing to keep vehicles longer originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Government credits 180,000 sales to Cash-for-Clunkers incentive

Michael Harley — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:54:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Government/Legal, Ford, Toyota

Even without a Cash for Clunkers $2 billion extension locked in place by the Senate, the U.S. government bean counters are crediting the auto incentive for moving more than 180,000 vehicles off dealer lots. The big winner so far is Toyota, knocking Ford's Focus off the top-selling vehicle spot with its economy-oriented Corolla sedan.

According to the numbers, more than 80 percent of the traded-in vehicles were light trucks (including SUVs, pickups, and vans), and 59 percent of the purchases are passenger cars... meaning the program is successfully replacing those thirsty vehicles with a class that is a bit more efficient.

The list of top-10 most traded-in vehicles is chock-full of domestic trucks. The soon-to-be-euthanized victims include five light trucks by Ford, three Jeep and Dodge brands, and two Chevys. And lastly, for those keeping track of the decimal points, the new vehicles being sold under the program earn an average 25.3 mpg, while the condemned only brought an 18.5 mpg average to the party.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

Government credits 180,000 sales to Cash-for-Clunkers incentive originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Senate to vote on 'Cash for Clunkers' today?

Michael Harley — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:27:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Government/Legal

A vote could come today on a bill designed to offer credits of up to $4,500 for consumers to trade-in gas-guzzling older vehicles. The so-called "cash for clunkers" legislation is designed to stimulate auto sales, but it also stands to effectively remove gross polluters from the roads and put drivers in safer and more fuel efficient vehicles.

As you would expect, the legislation is supported by automakers and dealers - both consider the program crucial to helping them weather the current sales environment. President Barack Obama has urged Congress to pass such a bill, and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has also petitioned in its favor. Similar "cash for clunkers" programs have already proven effective in many other countries. About the only thing standing in the way of this bill appears to be a competing measure, proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), that appears to prioritize environmental goals over automotive sales.

[Source: Detroit News]

Senate to vote on 'Cash for Clunkers' today? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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States start paying people to buy new, cleaner cars

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:02:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Government/Legal, Green, Canada

All of the clean new vehicles in the world won't amount to much if they don't replace the older, dirtier fleet of cars currently on the roads. For this reason, some U.S. states are beginning to offer programs which pay drivers to turn in their old clunkers for new, cleaner cars and trucks. In Texas, for instance, up to $3,500 is available to qualifying families which earn less than $63,000 per year in combined income and own a vehicle which fails current emissions testing. Texas was able to retire 11,000 vehicles last year alone by using this cash-based incentive. California too has begun offering a similar program, and though its $1,500 offer is a bit less generous, that state has no income restrictions.

Even our neighbors up north have plans to reduce their older vehicle fleet by one-percent starting January 1st of next year. Canada's plan would offer drivers either $300 towards a new vehicle, a discount bicycle or a bus pass, which seems a bit suck-tastic next to the program in Texas.

[Source: The Detroit News]

States start paying people to buy new, cleaner cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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