The average age of vehicles hit a record high in 2011 of 10.8 years. The fact that cars and trucks are getting older sounds like bad news for the state’s new auto sales. However, Tim Jackson, President of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association says dealers are selling more cars even as the age of the average car grows.
Jackson says the increase in the average age of cars can be attributed to a slightly slower rate of vehicles going to the junk yard to be destroyed. He believes the average age of a person's car, and the health of the state’s new car industry aren’t as connected as you might think. "Really those two are somewhat independent. Just because someone is adding a car in their garage or their company fleet, doesn't necessarily mean their taking another one off the road."
According to Jackson, new car sales in Colorado have rebounded since their low in 2009, when the state fell to 104,000 new car registrations. His organization estimates the number of new car registrations for 2011 will be 129,000.
