The Cost of Doing Business

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Hello premium subscribers (and those considering upgrading), I’m glad you’re with me today. Since you’re probably all tired of hearing about politics, let’s devote today’s issue to the topic of longevity.

In This Issue

• Get Off My Lawn!

• Life, Uh, Finds a Way

• Department of Inefficiency

Get Off My Lawn!

A rather heated discussion broke out the other day on Bluesky about the repairability and longevity of a new car. The premise? New cars are too complicated and break more easily, and when they do break they’re too expensive or impossible to fix so they end up in scrap yards sooner than old cars did.

The average fleet age of a car on the road — for the year 2024 — in the United States is 12.6 years. That number is assuming you include light trucks for a fleet average, but if you just look at cars that number jumps 14 years old. That’s an average.

If that sounds like the longest it’s been in the scope of human history, you’re probably right. Cars have become more and more expensive, and while adjusting for inflation it doesn’t seem that bad, wages have never adjusted for inflation since I’ve been an adult.

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