Average age of vehicles in U.S. increasing

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Feb. 22 (UPI) -- More older cars and trucks are on the roads of the United States pushing the median age for passenger cars to 9.2 years, automotive analysts R.L. Polk said.

"We continue to see increasing vehicle durability across all vehicle types regardless of last years increase in the scrappage rate," said Dave Goebel, a consultant for Michigan-based Polk's Aftermarket Solutions team.

Figures released Friday said the median age of passenger cars still in operation in 2007 tied the record set in 2006, at 9.2 years. The median age for trucks rose from 5.8 years to 7.3 years, while light trucks -- although down in the number of registrations -- increased from a median age of 4.4 years to 7.1 years in 2007.

Polk attributed the increased age of trucks to demographics. The surge of truck, SUV and minivan purchases in the 1990s is pushing the numbers up, Polk said.

The rate of vehicles being scrapped also increased slightly from 5.0 percent to 5.2 percent in 2007.