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...said increasing durability, not the economy, is the main driver of rising vehicle age...trend will continue (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23282300/)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/546/Jesse_s_2002_Prius-I_-_Road_to_Mt_Evans_CO.jpgAP - Feb. 21, 2008

One downside - the recent gas guzzlers are going to be around for awhile. -- Ed.

Detroit - Americans are keeping their cars and trucks longer as quality improves and the uncertain economy makes new purchases less appealing, according to a study released this week by automotive consulting firm R.L. Polk & Co.

Polk said the median age of cars on U.S. roads was 9.2 years in 2007. That ties the previous year's record high. In 2007, 41.3 percent of all cars were 11 years or older, compared with 40.9 percent the year before.

The median age for trucks and sport utility vehicles rose 4 percent to 7.1 years. Dave Goebel, a consultant for Polk's aftermarket team, said those numbers are starting to reflect a surge in truck and SUV purchases in the mid- to late 1990s… http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23282300/

Probably 5 more years. I'm hoping that there will be GOOD alternatives by then. That will be 12+ with this car, and the car's total age at 18 years. I voted "up to 15".

I have been driving 50 years and in that time I have had 4 cars, a 1959 Simca Aronde 1500, a 1966 Plymouth Valiant 318 V-8, a 1984 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser 4 bbl V-8 and now my current 1998 Toyota 4 Runner V-6, 4 wheel drive.

With each of these cars they were progressively better engineered and more durable, as Goebel points out in the article. The lowest odometer reading at my sale of these cars was 236,770 miles. One, the Custom Cruiser approached 500,000 miles. My 4 Runner is by far the best car I have ever owned, both in engineering and in durability. It currently has 165,000 miles on it and I am still running the original brakes. I have always driven as if I had no brakes!

I am sure I will be buying more and more energy efficient vehicles. But that 4 Runner will remain in my stable regardless of what I buy in the future. It is my own personal "end of an era".

My Yaris will be around for quite a while. It's the most useful vehicle I've ever owned and it's a Toyota so we know its longevity shouldn't be an issue.

I may turn it over to my oldest daughter in 2 years as her first car but even then I'll be the one maintaining it, and if she wanted to get rid of it too soon I'd take it right back.

On the picture...initially it was going to be a Volvo, but Jesse recently took his Prius I just shy of 350,000 miles before a kid snuffed his car out, so why not honor his car?

Robert - I stand in awe of your ability to maintain cars. How did you keep the rust off the '84 Olds for so long ?

Probably 5 more years. I'm hoping that there will be GOOD alternatives by then. That will be 12+ with this car, and the car's total age at 18 years. I voted 5.

I think the poll was meant to show how many total years you plan to keep your vehicle, not how many more years from now.

That sounds more useful. I changed mine to "up to 15".

We plan on keeping Ashen's HCH until one of two things occur: the IMA array becomes irreversably depletes; the CVT fails.

I plan to keep mine until it's economically unfeasible to maintain it. Or, until a PHEV-60 at an economical price is available.:D

I'm surprised that the average age of trucks is only 7 years... I've had my 1986 F150 for 22 years. In many ways I'm surprised it still runs so well. I've used it for hauling horses, hay, manure, rock, decomposed granite, firewood, helping friends move, etc. I never thought the orginal engine and tranny would last so long.

I hope my TCH will hold up as well.

I'm hoping my 2000 Honda Insight will be the 1st hybrid in Texas to have an antique licence plate in 2025.

I hope to be able to get a battery extender and keep my Prius for a long time. Hopefully this will make it a PHEV 40. It will be handed down to 1 of our 4 kids.

Well my crx voted in the primarys this year, so I've surpassed the 15 years a bit.

Probably 5 more years. I'm hoping that there will be GOOD alternatives by then. That will be 12+ with this car, and the car's total age at 18 years. I voted "up to 15".

You'll have VERY GOOD alternatives in as little as 3 years, but keeping it longer won't hurt.

I voted 15 years. We've had 2 Dakotas, but one was basically a replacement after my sister toasted her Horizon and needed something to take the abuse.

This version will have 6 years with me, and will become my grandpa's last car. Something solid and dependable to go get coffee and the mail.

Until it falls apart and something major breaks, and it cost more to fix it than the car's worth. At this rate that's going to be a long time. At least 15 years, if not more.

In 15 years, though, who knows? I might end up having to trade it in for a boring family sedan. (Heh, I can think ahead... but the car on my wishlist is the Lexus 460. I just saw it today at the Cincinnati auto show, and it's got more buttons than an airplane's cockpit. And every one of them does something cool... :p)


Thing about people keeping their cars longer, though: it is the economy. Quality control isn't as big a factor in keeping the car running as you'd think. On one end, look at the 50's jalopies that still tool around Havana. And on the other, know anyone with a new car that's just been an absolute lemon, a surrealistic nightmare that spends more time in the shop than on the road? Working class wages have been stagnant for the past 30 years - and as it's beginning to take a bigger and bigger bite out of people's livelihoods, we reflect that - in the rise of discount retailers such as Wal-Mart, the rise of generic store brands, etc. And we buy used cars because, hey, it's transportation. A $500 Geo off of Craigslist that runs good is going to get me from Point A to Point B the same way a $25,000 brand new Accord or Explorer would.

There's a similar debate going on in golf forums - why have the number of golfers declined since 2000 (golf will always have a high dropout rate because the game's difficult to learn and even more difficult to get good at)? The general consensus usually traces golf back to economic problems: either golf course owners trying to economize (by putting too many people on the **** course at once, making for a six hour round), or just people not having the money to play as much anymore.

My CX Hatch is 15 already (at 1 year under my care). I'll be keeping it for at least another 5-10, and during this time I will convert it to HEV - with upgraded battery packs.

Robert - I stand in awe of your ability to maintain cars. How did you keep the rust off the '84 Olds for so long ?

Thanks, Vooch! Thru the development of a carefully constructed washing program that attacked those areas of the car that collected salt and dirt, especially around the wheel wells. I wash out the underside once a week even if I don't wash the car. ;)

I had my first car, a `78 Malibu, from 1985-1999. It finally died from rot. I was car-free for six years, then bought my Prizm in July `06. I'm keeping it clean and garaged and am riding my bike most of the time, so it'll probably last about as long as my first car unless things change.

I still own the 2nd car I ever put a license plate on... but its a bit of an exception to the usual driver: 1965 Amphicar. I bought it Dec.8, 1974 from a Ford dealer. It hasn't been driven much since 1980, it did do a brief voyage in August of 2005, and was driven briefly in 2006.

Our other 'normal' vehicles we keep around until they aren't worth repairing any more. The Guzzler is getting close...