The average car is now older than Drake’s first album, Nissan expands its certified pre-owned program to include other manufacturers’ cars, Lancia launches a comeback. All this and more in today’s issue of The Morning Dump.
Welcome to The Morning Dump, bite-sized stories corralled into a single article for your morning perusal. If your morning coffee’s working a little too well, pull up a throne and have a gander at the best of the rest of yesterday.
Our Cars Are Getting Old As Hell
Much to the surprise of absolutely nobody, the average age of a car in America has trickled slightly upward over last year’s figures. According to Automotive News, S&P Global Mobility released a report on Monday claiming that the average car in America is now 12.2 years old, an increase of just about 2 percent over last year. [Editor’s note: Is it just me or is Automotive News’ choice to use percent difference to compare ages a bit of an odd way to present these statistics? I’d probably have just done what Bloomberg did and said something like “up almost two months from last year’s figure.” -DT] What’s next? Is rain wet? Is In The Aeroplane Over the Sea a red flag? Do birds chirp?
In all seriousness, this jump may be minor, but it shouldn’t be surprising. New cars aren’t exactly plentiful right now and old tin isn’t being scrapped because newer stuff is properly expensive. Hey, when the average used car on CarGurus is listing for more than $30,000, fixing the shitbox you know and love often works out cheaper than a car payment. More importantly, we don’t really know when used car prices will drop. Take a look at the latest Manheim index report, it appears that we’ve officially entered the “lol, lmao” zone.
Was the Q1 contraction signaling an incoming jump in used car values? Are we embarking on a long and rocky descent? Who knows? Given a slow ramp-up of production and a reduction in leased vehicles to turn in, we’re likely looking at higher than pre-pandemic used car prices for a few more years. Speaking with Automotive News, automotive aftermarket practice lead for S&P Global Todd Campau said, “I think there’s definitely going to be upward pressure on average age through probably 2024, maybe even ‘25.” It looks like we’re in for a long, shitboxy start to the 2020s.
Nissan Will Soon Sell You A Certified Pre-Owned Non-Nissan
Speaking of used cars, dealers are getting more desperate than a pop-punk kid on prom night. We’ve already seen Honda slap a CPO stamp of approval on cars up to 10 years old, now it’s Nissan’s time to shine. This fall, the Japanese automaker is launching a certified pre-owned program for cars that aren’t Nissans. What, did you think that Big Altima Energy was truly sustainable?
Like Honda’s HondaTrue Used program, Nissan’s new CPO program for non-Nissans is a bit light. According to Automotive News, Nissan dealers will conduct an 84-point inspection, then slap a six-month, 6,000-mile warranty on anything that qualifies. I’m sure there’s some healthy profit baked in, but the peace of mind that comes with a properly-backed warranty is quite nice for some consumers. Ford’s been doing a similar thing with its Blue Certified program, where vehicles up to a decade old with fewer than 120,000 miles on the clock are spruced up and equipped with a 90-day, 4,000-mile warranty. However, this rush of diet CPO programs isn’t all good news. If this trend keeps up, it’ll certainly screw with the flow of older vehicles to independent dealerships. While the image of a dodgy used car dealer stepping out of a sagging S-Class is an ever-present stereotype, cheaper prices are cheaper prices, and a good pre-purchase inspection is likely a whole lot cheaper than a warranty.
Lancia’s Comeback Rises Into Focus
The past decade has been a rough one for Lancia. The sharp-looking third-generation Delta was discontinued in 2014 while the Musa, a badge-engineered Fiat Idea, was killed off in 2012. Aside from producing the long-in-the-tooth Ypsilon, the famed Italian brand was mostly used for peddling Chrysler wank. Anyone fancy a Chrysler 200 Convertible rebadged as a Lancia Flavia? I thought not. While it may have been tempting to let Lancia die a slow and painful death, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares has other ideas.
Let’s start with distribution. According to a press release issued Friday, Lancia is planning for 50 percent of its European sales to be made online. Honestly, that’s a solid move. Low overhead, cut the pain of going to a dealership, easy financing up front. Job done. But what about product? It shouldn’t be a surprise that Lancia’s going electrified, with a three-vehicle approach that the company describes with surprising number of early official details. The first product, the new Ypsilon, will clock in at four meters (157.48 inches) long and arrive in 2024. Stellantis claims that all Ypsilon models will be electrified, although that could mean anything from all-electric powertrains to a 48-volt mild hybrid system. Next comes a 4.6-meter (181.1-inch) long flagship, a few inches shorter than a BMW 3-Series and a few inches longer than an Audi A3. Finally, a new Delta with what Lancia describes as “geometric lines” will arrive in 2028 sporting a length of 4.4 meters (173.2 inches). While I don’t have crazy expectations for Lancia, I’m really excited to see what the brand comes up with.
Hyundai Might Be Getting Rid Of The Sonata
It’s no secret that midsize sedans aren’t doing so well right now. Ford, Stellantis, Mazda, Buick, Volkswagen, and Lincoln have all either bowed out of the American midsize sedan segment or will bow out shortly. Potentially adding to that list? Hyundai. If a report from South Korean outlet Chosun Ilbo is to be believed, and take this with a grain of salt, there’s a chance that the end of the road for Hyundai’s midsize sedan may be in 2025.
Honestly, it would be a bit of a shame if the report turned out to be true. While the 2011 YF-generation Sonata was plagued with engine issues, it was a pivotal moment for Korean cars in America. Sure, the Hyundai Genesis was also huge, but the Sonata was attractive and desirable enough to worry Toyota. It marked the moment that Korean cars stopped being sensible and started being desirable, and consumers absolutely flocked. You could park a then-new Sonata in any upper-middle-class neighborhood in America and not look out of place. I know because my dad did just that. His 2013 Sonata fit in perfectly among the vast Cape Cod homes in Chesterfield, MO. While the latest Sonata’s styling is polarizing to say the least, the turbocharged N-Line model is a hilarious bit of one-wheel-peeling fun, a much more refined execution of the concept that spawned the Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. Let’s hope that the Sonata sticks around for another generation.
The Flush
Whelp, time to drop the lid on this edition of The Morning Dump. While it’s not exactly surprising that America’s vehicles are getting older, it’s an awesome opportunity to play a game. Take the ages of every vehicle in your fleet, add them all up, divide that number by the number of vehicles in your fleet, and let us know your fleet’s average age. Mine’s quite easy at 16 as I only own one car, but I’m sure some of you have an average fleet age multiple times of the average vehicle’s age of 12.2 years old.
Lead photo credit: “Car Dealership on Western Ave” by David Hilowitz is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
My fleet:
2012 BMW R1200RT motorcycle 42K miles
2013 Nissan Rogue 185K miles with its original CVT, by the way. It’s been dead solid reliable. Seriously.
2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV with 22K miles.
Average age is 7.3 years. My favorite is the BMW.
My average vehicle age is 40.2 years old.. or 1981 and change.
2006 Scion xB
“The Used Car Market Is Getting Weirder Than A Sword-Swallowing Unicyclist Rolling Up To Applebee’s”
How long have you known Alanis?
22.5 for now (’92 245, ’07 Yaris) although the old brick’s finally up for sale. The blueberry still feels shockingly modern, as the newest car I’d owned before was a ’96. Six airbags!
Got a 2006 with 160k and a 2010 with 140k so on average older than 12.2 years but low on mileage.
Have no desire to upgrade either of them. Both are long paid off, running fine, everything works, get decent fuel economy, no rust, low operating costs, newish tires, paint passes the 10′ test and I’m not trying to impress anyone.
Mine are a 1970 Cougar convertible and a 2007 RAV-4. My wife has two 2011s, an Odyssey and a Lexus LS 460 that her stepfather gave us, so that averages 22 1/4 for the four of them. We’ll probably sell the Lexus soon because we can get a fairly stupid amount of money for it and it’s kind of a gas hog, and not really fun enough to outweigh its impracticality.
The average age is also showing up on the side of the road as well. The number of broken down and abandoned vehicles I have seen over the last few years is growing rapidly. So many people are driving their vehicles to death because they have no other option. Then when their 15 year old car dies what is the next option? Buy a dirt cheap 10-year old car and pray it lasts you a while. I want to go on a rant here about how the middle and lower class are getting screwed so hard by these asshole billionaires but it won’t fix anything so I won’t rant. Thanks for reading if you made it this far.
1975 CJ5
2012 F-150
average age 28.
with the spare rolling chassis I have for my jeep 34.
Only one of those should be on the road though.
So:
99 Clio 2 -> 23 years old
04 Z4 -> 18 years old
76 280Z -> 46 years old
That gives us 97/3=33.33, a smidge over the average.
The big three getting out of affordable regular cars handed the market over to the Koreans on a silver platter, and they are reinvesting those free profits into their crossovers/SUVs at an astounding rate of success with vehicles like the Pallisade/Telluride and Sorento.
I’m at 17.2 years. About a 50/50 split on whether the next vehicular purchase will raise or drop that average by about 5 years.
30.5 years
I have a 1982 Mercedes w123 wagon and I daily drive a 2001 BMW e46 3-series.
The average age of my fleet is bit newer, mostly due to the other ones self-destructing beyond a reasonable repair cost.
The two newer ones are planning to be the 7+ year keepers.
The fleet is: 2010, 2018, and another 2018. That give average of 6 years. The 2010 is the nation’s average.
Add in the car I share with my parents, 1998, you get 14.6 years average age.
10.5. A 12 Cruze Eco and a 13 RAV4. Both with production dates a calendar year older than model year. The Cruze will run as long as I keep it in new water pumps. The Toyota will run as long as I change the fluids somewhat regularly. And keep them coated with Fluid Film to keep the tin worm at bay.
Our 4-car fleet averages 10 years old with the oldest 16 years old and the youngest 6 years old. Sadly, it was the newest vehicle that required a near $1,000 repair this morning.
2016 – Ram Rebel
2014 – Ford Fusion Titanium
2012 – Ford Focus SEL Hatchback
2006 – Toyota Camry SE
What was the repair?
Wow. 32.2, clearly brought on by my two classic pickups: ’69 Ford F-100 Ranger and 1974 Chevy Custom 10.
Still, I’m happy with that lol. Mostly because they’re all paid for and none are nearly close to “too far gone” status
There’s not much new out there that interests me, save for the Ford Maverick and Bronco, but even those would be base models, not status symbols. Never needed a newer car to make me personally feel better, and since I never had children of my own, my safety and welfare is all I’ve had to worry about. I’d be just as inclined to buy a ’77 Pontiac Grand Prix as my next personal car as anything else (lol, just picked something old at random). Still, when I was younger, my average used car purchase was ~10 years old. But that’s because that corresponded directly to the cars I liked growing up, and still like, and I still own one that is now 27 years old.
Wow. 32.2, clearly brought on by my two classic pickups: ’69 Ford F-100 Ranger and 1974 Chevy Custom 10.
Still, I’m happy with that lol. Mostly because they’re all paid for and none are nearly close to “too far gone” status, lol.
There’s not much new out there that interests me, save for the Ford Maverick and Bronco, but even those would be base models, not status symbols. Never needed a newer car to make me personally feel better, and since I never had children of my own, my safety and welfare is all I’ve had to worry about. I’d be just as inclined to buy a ’77 Pontiac Grand Prix as my next personal car as anything else (lol, just picked something old at random). Still, when I was younger, my average used car purchase was ~10 years old. But that’s because that corresponded directly to the cars I liked growing up, and still like, and I still own one that is now 27 years old.
Do I get the average age of my fleet and then multiply by their average length? Or do I multiply each car’s age by its length and then average all three cars? I don’t have a Lancia but I do have a Fiat so I assume I use metric units. What is the metric unit for time?
Well, 2007 Lexus RX400h with 143 000km and 1996 Honda Civic 1.6SR Vtec with 137000 kms, that’s a solid 20.5. years Old, and frankly I do not see the value into buying something newer.
Concerning Lancia, I wouldn’t get too excited. And I don’t see the point of one more brand, when you already have Maserati for luxury, Alfa Romeo and Peugeot and DS for kind of premium.
Average fleet age is #DIV/0!.
I’m urban enough that it’s been ages since it made more sense to rent as needed than to own/garage (although the pandemic rental market has screwed that up). Last to leave the fleet were a 1993 Yamaha motorcycle (in 2016) and a 1997 Windstar (in 2008).
Oh boy..
2013 Mustang GT vert
2011 Chevy Cruze Eco
2006 Honda Element
2004 Chrysler Sebring vert
2004 Ford F150
2002 Subaru WRX
1990 Mazda Miata
1981 Pontiac Grand Prix
1979 Chrysler 300
1969 Dodge Coronet 500
Proud to do my part to boost average fleet age.
On Hyundai sedans, I can’t speak to the compacts but I put 2000 miles on a new Kia K5 this spring, and was quite surprised at how good it was. Astonishing fuel economy, still fairly responsive, tons of room without being too big in cities…it would be a damnable shame to see its ilk disappear. I rejected crossovers at the rental counter because sedans just do most things better.
Last two cars we bought were 2014 CPO VWs, back when their CPO warranty was 24 months. There hadn’t been really any premium on the Tiguan over non-certified versions at the time, and the Jetta Wagon was an almost-too-good-to-be-true price. In both cases it meant a couple of minor repairs were covered, but the peace of mind was nice. Seeing that VW brought the warranty period down to 12 months to be in line with other companies was a bummer, but still better than 3 or 6 months. Who is that appealing to?
2 vehicles. One is a 2002 and the other is a 2003, so I have an average of 19.5
23.7, if you include my project ’74 Buick Apollo
Among vehicles that can actually move under their own power at the moment, that average is a much more average 11.5.
Average age: 42 years old.
1993 F150
1967 Mustang