Americans Are Keeping Their Cars Longer, as Vehicle Age Hits 12 Years
Im in automotive maintenance and repair as a trade, and a 12 year old car is no problem for anyone but the people at the wall street journal in my opinion.<p>how long you keep a car is your decision.  if you like it, and you're willing to pay for regular maintenance, then keep it.  this "long run" comparison of owning and repairing versus buying a new car is just silly.  So many people have the incentive to get you to buy a new car, but practically no one has an incentive to tell you to take good care of the things you own so they last.<p>And new cars arent always better.  That nice collision avoidance/lane keeper and camera system? that was implemented as a countermeasure for increasing A and B pillar size after regulatory agencies decided too many americans were getting crushed to death in roll-over accidents.  collision avoidance was literally the only way auto manufacturers could keep you out of a manslaughter charge thanks to the absolute byzantine nightmare of info-tainment systems that also do things like climate control.<p>controversial opinion here but older cars teach you a healthy fear of operating a 2000lb rolling death machine.  no infofainment means they are safer for the driver, and no nanny-state A pillars mean you arent doing 80 in a 65 quite as often.<p>I own a 2000 mercury grand marquis.  its a v8 so it inspires me to bipedal transportation pretty often with its fuel enconomy.  the biggest problem I have with the car is my coworkers nicknaming me "the don" for driving a murdered-out land yacht but its what i like.