Salt Lake Telegram | 1932-06-15 | Page 20 | Autos Live Longer When Times Hard

AUTOS LIVE LI VE LONGER WHEN TIMES HARD The average life of an automobile due to curtailed purchasing power of the public and an increasing durability dura dura- of or the product Is considerably longer today than in the flush days preceding 1929 the Standard Statistics Statistics Statis- Statis tics ics com company pan of ot New York concludes in n a current analysis of the motor car industry The survey continues in part Based on the unusual expansion of ot sales during the prosperous years of 1929 1921 a number of observers arrived at the conclusion that the average life of ot the automobile was about seven years an estimate which was accepted widely throughout the trade rade It must be admitted that such sucha a computation was made largely on the he basis of ot a product having a lower efficiency and durability than is obtainable ob- ob in today's motor vehicles likewise that these calculations were made when resale market demands were such that it often mattered little how low frequently cars were traded in inon inon inon the Nevertheless Nevertheless Nev Nev- on most up to models these studies apparently neglected to allow for the exigencies of such a period of restricted consumer er income and uncertainty over the future of business as now prevails which has resulted at least for a time timen in n materially lengthening so called car ar life In our current investigations of the he motor trade widely varying opinions ions ons have been discovered on the subject subject sub- sub of car life Some fear that It has las been extended permanently while others believe that given a restoration restoration restora- restora tion ion of general confidence and buying ability the longevity of the automobile automobile automo- automo bile ile again will approximate the seven years' years average formerly ruling In any case recent events make maket it t clear that there is considerable elasticity elas elas- in car life and that it bears a alose close lose correspondence with economic conditions prevailing from time to time ime One prominent car manufacturer tuner feels that the average span pan is isnow isnow isnow now around 10 years others estimate that hat the existence of the motor car currently ranges from eight and one- one Ihal half to nine and one half years ears