2009 was not a good year for car sales. No surprises there. An interesting side effect of lowered sales last year, though, is that the total number of vehicles in the overall U.S. car fleet dropped. There were 250 million cars here in 2008, and only 246 million at the end of 2009. We may have been buying fewer cars than we usually do in a year – there were around 10 million sold in 2009 – but we still got rid of 14 million units.

Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute, will be speaking to reporters Wednesday about why he thinks these numbers mean that "America's century-old love affair with the automobile may be coming to an end." Part of Brown's reasoning is that he sees the shrinking U.S. fleet trend continuing through 2020 thanks to market saturation, economic uncertainty and a "declining interest in cars among young people who have grown up in cities," among other factors. The end result? Brown believes the shrinking fleet "will also largely eliminate the need for building new streets and highways, and will set the stage for increased investment in public transit and high-speed intercity rail." Is Brown on to something, or will a widely-expected rebound in new car sales due to pent-up demand render his argument spurious?

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/04/r...million-in-20/

 

Yep, I went from 4 vehicles to 3 in 2009, did my part.

 

people need to save again, not buy new cars they cant afford

 

One of the main factors contributing to the decline in 2009 is obvious.....I don't know why the article didn't mention it. By law (and the terms of the program), all of the vehicles traded in under the Cash-for-Clunkers program were sent to the crusher and recycled. They were not reconditioned by the dealership and put back out on the used-car retail market, like used cars often are (it was illegal to do so) . That, of course, took a lot of potential vehicles off the road.

Another, less-obvious factor is the fact that GM and Ford are making better vehicles these days that are less-likely to be prematurely scrapped or taken out of service with junked engines or transmissions.

 

In 2009 the economy was the main factor in this trend.

 

yes we are straight broke right now...

 

people probably did not register/insure their 2nd/3rd vehicle due to lack of funds... what are the prices for insurance/registration these days in the usa?

 

Well, yes, of course....if you consider that the economy was the whole reason for the Cash-for-Clunkers program to start with. It was, more or less, the automotive equvalent of the Stimulus Package.

 

My parents are currently selling an old accord that they had just for weekends etc. They need to save and open up parking in the driveway. I will miss it though because its the only manual I have access to . I miss manuals

 

I too miss having regular access to a manual tranny car. All my Porsches over the last 15 years have been manuals and used mostly as weekend cars.

 

Yes, root cause was the economy because it's impact goes far beyond the impact of CFC alone, (of course CFC being part of the impact).

 

With Saturn, Pontiac, Chevy trucks, Hummer, and Saab all with numbered days (as of now), and with Mercury at reduced strength without the Grand Marquis and Sable, we're likely to see more drops in 2010.

 

Certainly for all the examples (listed above), these vehicles were all in various forms of downward sales spirals well before the recession started. For the most part these examples were not highly regarded for several years, and good examples of why GM (and Mercury division) market share kept sliding.

 

Im attempting to get an apartment between work and school, this I could walk. I wouldn't get rid of my car of course, but I might only drive it two days a week instead of seven.

 

No wonder its so freezing out!