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Re: high mileage in general

Being a 'useitupwearitoutmakeitdo' kind of guy,
I've enjoyed this thread on high mileage autos.

henri baccouche writes:

... Interestingly, the manufacturers have largely 
remained mute about mileage even though this would 
be a very powerful advertising message...

It a counterproductive advertising message. They want
to sell you THIS YEAR'S cars. 

How would you position the ad? Say a 10-20 year old model
ran for a million miles? That's an advertisement for
a product that the manufacturer no longer makes any
money on. Plus, if the ad implies that the new car
could rack up as many miles as the older model and
it doesn't, 'surfs up' for the lawyers. And who is
the target audience, cheap people who drive old
cars? Not a lucrative market. 

And your typical consumer doesn't want to think about 
owning the same auto 10-20 years from now. 

<enable mindless consumerism> Only total failures 
drive old cars. Successful people drive NEW cars. 
I am driving a new car. I am successful.
<disable mindless consumerism>.

Of course a piece of metal can last more than 10 years. 
What really amazes me is a high mileage car that
has a straight body. A high mileage car that has avoided
accidents for 200K-800K miles - well, it must be owned by a
real careful, defensive driver who lives in 
a small town and regularly drives long distances on
the interstate.

Doing this in urban traffic - that is something really
special. Somebody with access to accident data
should work up the probability of this.

Eric Tangen
2-2002s and a 530i

(everybody else enjoying clicking on 'Reply to Sender' instead
typing? Thanks, Richard)