Cars in Washington area getting older

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) conducts a triennial survey of the Washington area vehicle fleet.  In November they released the third in this series (2005, 2008, 2011).

Among the findings was data that showed the average age of vehicles in the DC area is going up; that is, cars are getting older.  Here are the average age of passenger vehicles (light-duty vehicles are regular cars while light-duty trucks are SUVs and pickup trucks):

  Year       Light-duty vehicles      Light-duty trucks

  2005            8.23 years                       7.06 years

  2008            8.51                                7.53

  2011            9.25                                8.55

The average age for cars has increased a full year since 2005 and the average age for SUVs has increased 1 1/2 years over the same time.  It is likely that the recession has had a strong influence on people's interest in and ability to purchase new cars, a likely factor in the increasing age of the fleet. 

The older fleet of cars has a negative impact on air quality, which is why MWCOG collects this information.  MWCOG is responsible for developing the plans for the DC Metro area to meet its air quality obligations under the Clean Air Act.  Knowing the age of the fleet allows them to more accurately model air emissions.

There are two ways the older fleet has a negative impact on air quality:

• New cars generally have better and newer emissions reduction technologies compared to older cars,
• As cars age they also tend to become somewhat less efficient, both for fuel efficiency and for their ability to reduce air pollutants.

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Steve Offutt, Arlington

 

Comments

[Recycle2011]

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[D]

Do they also track average vehicle miles/year? With services proliferating in many DC neighborhoods and numerous newcomers being more urban-oriented (walking/biking/taking transit over driving for many trips), I wouldn't be surprised if putting fewer miles on the car was more of a factor in the decision to not replace a car than financials (I have put fewer and fewer miles on my car each year since moving to DC, and it simply wouldn't make sense to get a new one when I'm only putting 2000 or so miles a year on a car with barely over 50,000 miles on it right now). A 9 year old model still won't be as environmentally friendly as a new model, but I bet that's more than made up for in a reduction in vehicle miles. I think they mark the mileage of my car down when I get it inspected, so they should have this information...

[Andrew]

It's not just the cost of the new car itself that is probably a deterrent, but in Virginia, at least, I know that I am holding off on buying a new car because I don't want to incur higher vehicle taxes every year. If Virginia wants to clean the air, they should consider eliminating the yearly tax on automobiles based on the vehicle's value.