Your observations: what years cars on the roads?

[s8filmaker]

OK, I recall at a recent AAA baseball game my friend laughed and said my truck would be easy to find as it is the oldest in the parking lot - it was a 1989 Ford Ranger...and by golly he was right.

As I drive around California, (NORCAL) I notice than 198-anything is a real fluke to see on the road. The average car seems far newer than 10 years old...I would submit the majority appear to be 2000+

Yet, when I drove my 82 Mustang up to Vancouver, BC, I was amazed. My car blended in. Lots of 80s vehicles on the roads (especially trucks) and I even saw the same car I always see on my trips - a 79 pace car running down the roads in Burnaby.

Typical scene in Vancouver:



So, I suggest my hypothesis - there are no old cars on the road in Northern California but the fleet is at least 10 years older in Vancouver.

Anyone else feel alone while driving their 80's ride on the streets?

[silverfive0]

Well, now that I no longer live in the middle of the rust belt, I used to live in NorthWest Ohio, and I'm living in Tulsa, OK area, theres lots of 70's, 80's and even some 60's cars running the streets daily. Our worst problem with cars around here is the paint...most look like bad old primer!! Two years ago, I spent three month's living in SoCal (San Pedro area, WOW!!) and there were alot of older cars running around....but I'd sayin general your right, most cars running the streets are basicaly "new" out there. And it seems 95% of them were small fwd's and imports...why anyone would want to finance a tin-can econo-box for 5 years just so its worn out when its paid off I'll never know!! Just keep that in mind when you drive your 80's FOX and drive it with FOUREYEDPRIDE!!!!
LAter, RAY

[Highwayman]

Living in Illinois, I noticed few older cars, most cars on the road being 10 years old or less.

Now living in AZ, I see alot more old cars on the road.

I have 2 reasons I can come up with for this:

-first, cars don't rust here.

-and second, many people here have a different attitude about their cars, they aren't so concerned with fashion and status that having a late model car might give them, but more concerned with just having a car they like regardless of how old and/or beat up (or not) it is or what others think of it.

The car culture here is far superior and I love it.

[Shadow 1]

From what I notice around here it depends what part of town you live. The west side has new fancy ones like bmw, lexus, hummer, etc... and the east side(my side) drives more practical ones like ford trucks, chevy suburbans, older vans, jeeps, etc... In the middle ground there seems to be a lot of honda's that kids drive and kia's for the older crowd not to mention toyotas, the tacoma and tundra are really popular here. Still can't beat ford or chevy though. I guess I feel more comfortable around here driving an older car, even a old 70's datson pickup, then on the west side of town. Makes me feel like a redneck in new york.

[WTmark]

Cheap and easy credit has a lot to do with the demise of older cars..........the car companies have made it so easy to step up to a new car, people trade up instead of fixing their old pile......this in turn led to a glut of cars hitting the used car market as cars came off lease; forcing the dealers to wheel and deal on all those off-lease cars clogging the used car lots...............thus the abscence of cars more than ten years old.

[93-331-29PSI]

Cheap and easy credit has a lot to do with the demise of older cars..........the car companies have made it so easy to step up to a new car, people trade up instead of fixing their old pile......this in turn led to a glut of cars hitting the used car market as cars came off lease; forcing the dealers to wheel and deal on all those off-lease cars clogging the used car lots...............thus the abscence of cars more than ten years old.

I drive 120 miles a day, with 2 young children, and I wouldn't think of doing it in an 86GT with 259k miles on a stock drivetrain. Could I repair it and make it like new??? Sure, but then I would get T-boned and the car would be gone.

I much rather like the idea of getting t-boned in a new car. I also like the peace of mind that comes with a new car warranty, roadside assistance, loaner for life, and not having to wrench on my daily driver just so I can get to and from work.

Maybe easy credit is bad for some people, but I don't take advantage of it and it has made my commute cheaper and much more comfortable.

[WTmark]

I drive 120 miles a day, with 2 young children, and I wouldn't think of doing it in an 86GT with 259k miles on a stock drivetrain. Could I repair it and make it like new??? Sure, but then I would get T-boned and the car would be gone.

I much rather like the idea of getting t-boned in a new car. I also like the peace of mind that comes with a new car warranty, roadside assistance, loaner for life, and not having to wrench on my daily driver just so I can get to and from work.

Maybe easy credit is bad for some people, but I don't take advantage of it and it has made my commute cheaper and much more comfortable.

I have a friend who owns a family garage (been in the family for 54 years)........It is his contention (which I agree with) that the car companies are trying to get the older cars off the roads for the maintenence monopoly on the newer cars......you can no longer take your car down to the independant garage when something goes wrong.......and the dealers make thier money on service, not the sales..........plus, as cars get older, with the price of replacement parts, people tend to trade up rather to absorb the cost of repairs.
BTW, GM is either demanding a core and a large core charge on all replacement engines, they are trying to dry up the pool of rebuildable motors out there.

[85vert]

I would think the pollution control laws have something to do with the difference between NORCAL and Vancouver. I don't know what the laws are like in Vancouver but it's a hunch.

[86GT2go]

An eclectic mix here....you see a few (more than I would think for the area) 70s rides, quite a few 80s and up to middle 90s rides, and the rest (majority) are late 90s and up.

[93-331-29PSI]

I have a friend who owns a family garage (been in the family for 54 years)........It is his contention (which I agree with) that the car companies are trying to get the older cars off the roads for the maintenence monopoly on the newer cars......you can no longer take your car down to the independant garage when something goes wrong.......and the dealers make thier money on service, not the sales..........plus, as cars get older, with the price of replacement parts, people tend to trade up rather to absorb the cost of repairs.
BTW, GM is either demanding a core and a large core charge on all replacement engines, they are trying to dry up the pool of rebuildable motors out there.

I don't doubt any of that, and as long as my kids ride with me I will buy into it, but once they are done commuting then I will be done replacing them every 5 years.

[HEMI]

I live in a major college town. Most of what I see around campus are beaters at least a few years old, but very rarely in to the '80s. Once you get in to the smaller towns around here older (or even classic) cars become more and more prevalent, as do trucks and such.

[85GT-79FJ40]

I'm pretty much alone when I drive my older vehicles here in NH. It's rare to see another fox Mustang on the road at all, unless i'm headed to New England Dragway. I worry about my Mustang and Landcruiser getting wrecked every time I take them out, but I do drive them. From May to mid October my 85 is pretty much a daily driver. And I work 45 miles from home. The FJ40 doesn't make the trip too often at 12mpg, but I do put around 1500 miles on it a year usually. That turns WAY more heads than the Mustang when its out. I very rarely put my 4 month old daughter in the 85, and she never goes in the topless FJ40. We have a 2000 4runner and my 05 tacoma for kid hauling.

[SleeperGT]

My theory on it is that the reason that there's not much for older vehicles on the road nowadays is from a combination of reasons. Some provinces & states are making the requirements for getting a vehicle inspected stricter as each year goes by. Some shops are taking advantage of this by nit-picking what needs to be fixed so they can make more cash. People won't put much money into fixing a car, and with these 'no down payment' whatever used car dealers will used to lure you in to financing through them, it makes it much more convenient to just get a new car. Sort of like what is going on here in Nova Scotia.

[Shadow 1]

I have a friend who owns a family garage (been in the family for 54 years)........It is his contention (which I agree with) that the car companies are trying to get the older cars off the roads for the maintenence monopoly on the newer cars......you can no longer take your car down to the independant garage when something goes wrong.......and the dealers make thier money on service, not the sales..........plus, as cars get older, with the price of replacement parts, people tend to trade up rather to absorb the cost of repairs.
BTW, GM is either demanding a core and a large core charge on all replacement engines, they are trying to dry up the pool of rebuildable motors out there.

I have to agree with 93-331-29PSI, it is peace of mind when buying a new car. It is nice to have warranty and everything else that comes with it. The down side to have a new car is in most cases from what I've seen if you get into an accident in one your insurance company doesn't pay you for the full value of what you owe on the car, or if you bought it outright your really S.O.L.ed because of depreciation.
Your right about having to go to the dealer more and more for service Mark. I was looking at the new ford diesel trucks a few months ago and from what I gather to do any major work on it you have to pull the whole cab from the truck and the only people who have the lifts to do it is ford dealers. This is why if I buy a new diesel truck I'm not buying a ford.

[superhighoutput]

I do not count my mustang because it was not bought as a daily driver .but for the last 5 years or so we have owned 2nd generation SHO's and I counted up the miles driven in the 4 cars and it came to over 300.000 . I know thats a lot but we travel quite a bit .I then counted up all the repairs other than tune ups and oil changes ,2 starters and 1 fuel pump .that cost me a total of $260.00 .add in the fact that they have the highest crash safety rating of nearly any car on the market and you get a very safe car that gets 30mpg on the highway ,great performance and very low operating cost . I enjoy driving down the road and counting cars much newer than mine getting towed around .I have never had to tow any of my SHO's even when the fuel pump went out it made it home .so obviously I think the kind of car you drive matters much more than how new it is when it comes to piece of mind .

[digitalrailroader]

I have a friend who owns a family garage (been in the family for 54 years)........It is his contention (which I agree with) that the car companies are trying to get the older cars off the roads for the maintenence monopoly on the newer cars......you can no longer take your car down to the independant garage when something goes wrong.......and the dealers make thier money on service, not the sales..........plus, as cars get older, with the price of replacement parts, people tend to trade up rather to absorb the cost of repairs.
BTW, GM is either demanding a core and a large core charge on all replacement engines, they are trying to dry up the pool of rebuildable motors out there.

and GM's Engines are limp noodle V6s, 4 Bangers, and it paines me to say this, Limp noodle V8s. and you are right, the Dealers are trying to make the money from the service after the sale, although im curious why the Automakers are so interested in milking your wallet dry? the vehicles are so expensive, nobody can afford them anymore and the only way you can drive it off the lot is if you finance, therefore you get scammed out of money through hidden options and charges.

[86GT2r]

93-331-29PSI posted

I much rather like the idea of getting t-boned in a new car.

I really hope you are not serious!
Here in N. Illinois, rust takes care of the older cars rather quickly. That being said, our household consists of 2 '86 Mustangs, a 89 Ranger, a 92 Capri, a 98 Windstar, & a 04 T-bird. So I guess we are out of the norm since most of our vehicles are more than 10 years old.

[Dean_T]

I've noticed Seattle has a healthy population of older vehicles - not sure whats on the road anymore since I haven't lived there in over 20 years but I can usually find a Fairmont for sale on their Craigslist while I have a tough time finding one in the Los Angeles Craigslist. Here in VC county, it depends on which city you're in: Ojai - many classic cars from the '50's through '60's and hot rods. Camarillo, lots of luxury cars - German, japanese and Cads. Sometimes old land yachts driven by even older folks but the cars are usually in pristine condition. Oxnard. Beaters, Cr@p, pick-up trucks.

On my commute to work, I see mid '80s and up cars with a few Fox Mustangs and '70's cars thrown in. And once in a while, a '60s Mustang.

Just my take on things.

Dean T

[80 Capri]

I would say 95% of cars I see on the road on a daily basis are 1995 and newer. That is not counting cars that are obviously not daily drivers. I see old cars all the time, but they are usually show cars or something along those lines. It is not uncommon to see cars from the 50's, 60's and 70's driving around, but you can tell they are not daily drivers. I would say a 4 eyed Mustang is actually a more rare sight on the roads around here then a 60's Mustang. I may see one or two 4 eyes every 6 months vs. three or four 60's - 70's Mustangs every month. Fox body Capri's are a VERY rare sight in these parts. I think I may have seen one on the road in the past 7 years, and it was in very bad condition. Later 80's/early 90's Fox Mustangs are relatively common around here still.

I personally drive a 1972 Maverick daily. It's different, and that's what I like about the car. Get thumbs up and people asking what year it is and stuff like that all the time. And of course I get the occasional "Nice Nova/Camaro/Mustang!" at gas stations. For as common as these cars were, it's amazing how many people mistake it for some other type of car.

[anthonydalrymple]

I agree with just about everything said here so far, But I am a bit suprised no one has mentioned the other reason why people don't own older vehicles..... How many teenagers and young adults wrench anymore? I knew lots of buddies growing up whom wrenched and I met lots of other servicemen like myself whom wrenched as a hobby. Nowadays they seem to be few and far between.... Now if I didn't know 2 cents about how an automobile worked; what would I buy?

[Shadow 1]

I agree with just about everything said here so far, But I am a bit suprised no one has mentioned the other reason why people don't own older vehicles..... How many teenagers and young adults wrench anymore? I knew lots of buddies growing up whom wrenched and I met lots of other servicemen like myself whom wrenched as a hobby. Nowadays they seem to be few and far between.... Now if I didn't know 2 cents about how an automobile worked; what would I buy?

That's true, I couldn't do more than change the oil in my newer truck. Personally I think it's cause it's intimidating, especially with computers.

[Hooptie]

When I have the Capri out, I am almost always the oldest car for miles.