« Age and the stock market | Main | Tax brackets »
November 02, 2007
Car buying habits
It's often said the whole is the sum of the parts, and N.C. State University economist Mike Walden says that's the case with statistics related to car buying, with the aggregate numbers on vehicle size, fuel efficiency and vehicle type all determined by the buying decisions of millions of individuals. Listen
"If we look over the past 20 years, what's happened is that we collectively have bought bigger and more powerful vehicles. The average weight of a vehicle over that 20-year period is up 900 pounds, a 29 percent increase," he says. "Horsepower and speed are also up to record levels, and as a result over this 20-year period fuel efficiency has actually declined.
"However in recent years, the last couple years, there are signs -- they are fairly modest, but there are signs -- that these trends are changing. Fuel efficiency is now up over the past 2 years, and I think an obvious reason for this change in attitude is gas prices. When gas prices were low people wanted to buy bigger vehicles, more powerful vehicles, speedier vehicles. And they weren't concerned as much with fuel efficiency.
"Now that gas prices are up their focus is on fuel efficiency, and we are seeing that result in aggregate statistics."
Posted by deeshore at November 2, 2007 08:00 AM