Not only are Americans living longer on average, so are their cars.
There are more automobiles on the roads than ever and they have more miles on them. The average vehicle in the U.S. is now a record 11.5 years old, according to a statement made by consulting firm IHS Automotive.
Modern vehicles are more reliable and drivers have opted to keep them on the road longer. Another reason people have kept their cars longer is from the need to save money from the recession.
Drivers of older cars may not have the latest features or systems that can almost turn vehicle dashboards into cellphones. Then again, drivers don’t have to worry about hackers taking over their vehicles via Wi-Fi, as happened when car hackers took over a Jeep Cherokee and shut off the engine.
There are more cars registrations than ever to almost 258 million, up 2 percent from the year before. Considering the nation’s population is about 320 million, America continues to rely on motor vehicles.
The average age of vehicles has been climbing steadily for more than a decade. As quality and reliability have improved, people have been keeping their cars and trucks for longer.
Experts say there’s no limit for how long a person can safely drive old car or truck. A car with good reliability can operate for 200,000 miles or more, which can easily last a decade for some drivers, says Doug Love, an expert from Consumer Reports, according to The Associated Press.
The magazine doesn’t recommend driving older cars without important safety features of electronic stability control and side curtain air bags.
Because people are keeping cars longer, they may be reluctant to adapt to the new innovations in vehicles. Other advances like CarPlay, which gives drivers access to their apps through the dashboard, will take much longer to become standard.
