Vote: Is The Second Car Going Out Of Style?

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Bloomberg and car analyst Itay Michaeli spotted a new trend: The second car could be going out of style, and this “may hurt U.S. auto sales,” Bloomberg says.

Indeed, “the average number of vehicles for every U.S. driver has declined since hitting a record in 2007.” Is it a new trend that “Americans are increasingly willing to settle for owning one car or truck?”

It looks to us like it is simply a phenomenon that occurs in most recessions (our grey overlay) when the number of vehicles per driver usually goes south.

However, excessive car ownership may indeed have plateaued. With more than 800 cars per thousand people, the U.S. is the country with the highest car ownership in the world. Other countries with wide open spaces, such as Canada, or Australia have much less.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 71 comments
  • Sam P Sam P on Jun 24, 2012

    My wife and I each have a car. We're looking at picking up a used Toyota or Jeep 4x4 SUV as the 3rd vehicle in our fleet as our 3-series and Mini are pretty useless on Forest Service roads around where we live.

  • Andy D Andy D on Jun 24, 2012

    I run a pair 528es for daily drivers and a Ranger 4x4 for utility. I also have a home garaged work truck used strictly for work.

  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
Next