Duncan Black teases out this rather alarming factoid:

Bernanke Money Policy Seen Achieving Goal as Savers Become Consumers Again

………

The average age of cars and light trucks on the road today has risen to 10.6 years, Jenny Lin, senior U.S. economist at Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford Motor Co., said on a Dec. 1 conference call. That’s above the seven-to-7.5 years Ballew says is the long-term average.

The number has been trending up for years, notwithstanding what Ms. Lin said, but a 1.2 year increase since 2008 is a big jump for just 3 years.

Here’s something to think about: That number is never going back, because people are used to keeping their cars longer now, and the technological advances over the past couple of decades allow them to.

Cars are a lot better than they were 20 years ago, and they last a lot longer.