COULD CARS BE MADE TO LIVE LONGER?

Legally, in Canada a car owner can expect his car to remain free from structural damage under normal operating conditions during the first 72 months or 240,000 km. Cars in Sweden have a median life of 15 1/2 years (in 1980) and cars in Britain of 11 1/2 years. This information led the author of this article to investigate what means the British buyer had to evaluate car life--there aren't many--and to compare these means to those of the Swedish buyer, who has at his disposal an annual survey of the median life and the weak points of cars, published by the Swedish Motor Vehicle Inspection Company (Svensk Bilprovning). It seems that longer car life in itself is not a sales asset as genuine durability carries a fairly high price tag. The author gives also a cursory look to car leasing and asks for readers' reactions.

• Corporate Authors:

  IPC Specialist and Professional Press Limited

  Surrey House, 1 Throwley Way
  Sutton, Surrey SM1 4QQ,   England 
• Publication Date: 1982-7-14

Media Info

• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: 1 p.
• Serial:
  • Motor
  • Volume: 162
  • Issue Number: 4158

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Leasing; Service life
• Geographic Terms: Sweden; United Kingdom
• Subject Areas: Design; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00369594
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-033 415
• Files: HSL, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 31 1983 12:00AM