How old are our cars in "car years?"

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick owners with a curious mind,

You may have heard the phrase how old is your dog in "dog years."  It turns out to be more complex than ever I cared to know, but you can read about it here:

https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/how-to-calculate-your-dogs-age

On the other hand, I have always been curious to know what was the age of my trusty wagon in "car years."

Today I got an excuse to take a stab at computing that number.  According to this 2017 Consumer's Reports story (and I quote:)

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-repair-maintenance/make-your-car-last-200-000-miles/

"The average age of all cars on the road is more than 11 years, up from about eight years in 1995, according to Polk research. "

So at age 53, Biquette has lived through (according to this number) 53/11 = 4.81 average car lifetimes of 11 years.

Now according to this Wikipedia article about human life expectancy:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

The average human life expectancy in the United States is somewhere around 80 years.  So Biquette in "car years" would be 4.81•80 or 385 years old!!

Anybody who was 380+ years old would feel a little out of place with those "youngsters" who aren't even 100.  I get the feeling, that even as cars, our classics is somehow going through that. . . . . 

The "interesting" results you can get with mathematics . . . . . .   

Cheers, Edouard 

[TrunkMonkey]

My 393 year old can beat most of the whippersnappers on the road today.

And still make the young girls swoon...

[option B9]

      Hi Edouard &TrunkMonkey
      That's some great calculating Edouard. I was never one for high math. So my Buick is really 385 years old, Let me run those numbers by the wife to justify me paying garage rent OR maybe not ! She might think i finally snapped and try to put me away in a rubber room and sell all my Buick's & parts then go on a well deserved vacation..... Ok, it's 53 years young..
     
    The average life expectancy of a vehicle in the 1960s was only 7 years. So our Buick's are survivors ! For some reason our Buick's are here when all the others are gone. Each Buick has some quirk in its history that it has survived. The stories are fascinating and colorful just like the proud Americans that drive them.   

                                                                                                        Tony

[elagache]

Dear Michael, Tony, and owners of Buicks with long life-spans, . . .

So my Buick is really 385 years old, Let me run those numbers by the wife to justify me paying garage rent OR maybe not ! She might think i finally snapped and try to put me away in a rubber room and sell all my Buick's & parts then go on a well deserved vacation..... Ok, it's 53 years young..

     
Hey, I can help you with the math, but convincing SWMBO is your problem and your problem alone! 

The average life expectancy of a vehicle in the 1960s was only 7 years. So our Buick's are survivors !

Hmm, . . .  That means my math is arguably off.  Since the life expectancy of cars was still only 8 years in the mid-90s that means from 1965 to 1995 you should assume no more than a 8 year lifespan.  That would make our cars much older still!  I don't have time to explore the math at the moment, but eventually I'll take a crack at it!

Cheers, Edouard 

[TrunkMonkey]

...
Hmm, . . .  That means my math is arguably off.  ...

Well, more cars smoked back then, some of them smoked heavily, and contributed to shortened lifespan.

[elagache]

Dear Michael and mid-60s Buick owners who still get victimized by "punishment," . . . .

Well, more cars smoked back then, some of them smoked heavily, and contributed to shortened lifespan.

. . . . I dunno' . . . . I thought the worst cancer any car faced was RUST and rust of course is caused by water.  So isn't the worst problem a car can ever face is a drinkin' problem? . . . . . . . . . . .

Groan, boo, grunt, etc. . . . . . .

Cheers, Edouard