Featured Dashboard Summary April 2017

why does anything ever end? if we knew why, we could probably do something about it. seems to be the nature of economics. highs or lows, no even keel.

 

Interest rates higher... Coupled with saturation and cars that last longer.... Why wouldn't it change? But... That still doesn't mean alt fuel vehicles will slow in the bigger picture. .. Now is the perfect time to close the gap.

 

Gettin' philosophical on us, eh?

every chapter - of every story has an end.

It's out of our control ... try not to think about it. Cinco de mayo & tequila helps, way out here in so Cal. Bottoms up!

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if i start on tequila, my philosophy improves greatly, at least in quantity.

 

Drivers to buy new cars -> Safety technology, Head unit technology, efficiency, performance, old fleet
Drivers to keep old or trade for used -> Monthly cost (includes car cost inflation and interest rates), have better uses for money than a new car.

Given oil prices low, wages are stagnating, and interest rates are going up this means us and Japanese new car market will likely decrease. In Europe interest rates are low and fleet is older, if the economy improves wages there market will grow. China's rising wages and low penetration mean growing market. China is already the number 1 market in the world and its lead over the US should increase.

 

It could also be that a lot of people are happy with what they're currently driving.

 

Well I'm waiting for the tesla model 3 ;-) That is why I haven't bought, but I'm an outlier. Cars built 10 years ago, are much better than 10 year old cars in the 1980s, which means a lot smaller percentage of people scrapping their cars.
Vehicles Getting Older: Average Age of Light Cars and Trucks in U.S. Rises Again in 2016 to 11.6 Years, IHS Markit Says | IHS Online Newsroom