FEWER NEW CARS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 2, 4 January 1932, Page 8

FEWER NEW CARS

REGISTRATIONS DROP

SHORTER PLEASURE TRIPS

While the motoring habit, once acquired, dies hard, there has been a distinct falling-off lately in the purchase of new cars, and a general inclination on the part of those with cars in their possession to make shorter pleasure trips. The man who did the round trip from "Wellington over tho hills via either Hay wards or Moonshine to Pahautanui and back through Ngahauranga Gorge now chooses a flatter run, if not a shorter one, on Sunday. Instead of going to Paraparaumu or Paekakariki, he goes to Day's Bay, or perhaps only to Petone beach, and it is noticeable that in general motorists take the sea breezes nearer home'than they did two years ago. Many now patronise the run from Seatoun round the beach to Happy Valley, and so back to town. Long trips are off these days for the majority. The registration figures show that the total up to the end of November last, 227,000, more than doubled tho figures in 1925. These latest returns show that there were 144,724 motor-vehiclea registered in the North Island, of which 97,402 were cars, 26,173 commercial vehicles, and 21,149 cycles, whUe in the South Island there were 82,336 registrations, of which 55,199 were cars, 13,093 commercial vehicles, and 14,044 cycles. Cars are only registered once, and remain registered unless tho registration is cancelled. Cancelled registrations total 44,356. - STEEP DROP LAST YEAR. The position regarding . newly purchased vehicles is shown by the recent registrations, which give a decided falling off compared with the past few years, and a more rapid decline last year. Registrations in 1929 were between 2000 and 3000 every month, and December, always a big month, reached 3861, but in 1930 the registrations were only four times over 2000, nnd in 1931 they were only once over 1000. The pronounced fall really set in in November, 1930, but there is an. evident further gradual decrease in the year's monthly figures, which run 988, 936 982, 870, 763, 1405 (Juno, being the beginning of the year, has always a big registration), 529, 874, 815, 894, and 984, so far. Though December usually gives a heavy registration, it is not anticipated that last month's figures will reach more than a third of those for 1929. The gradual overhaul of trie leeway in the purchase of British, cars is encouraging, but there is still much leewayto niake up. It "is noteworthy that one mass-produced American car so preponderates in the sales that if it were excluded from the figures, British cars would be well ahead of American and other makes combined. For November 239 British cars were purchased, as against 309 American and Canadian cars, while cars made elsewhere totalled only six. Some years ago it was thought that seven years was an ample time to allow for the re-appearance of a car in the annual records, but now this opinion has had to bo revised. Nine years are oow provided for, and even that may prove to be insufficient if what one gentleman referred to as the "sackcloth and ashes" period extends, because there is a general inclination to make the- "old bus" do another year, even when it is no longer at its best. Agents, puzzled two years ago by what to dp with the numerous second-band cars that were traded in, have now less difficulty in getting rid of them if they are in anything like order. Many cars registered in 1925 are still on the road, even those of the cheaper variety, which are generally supposed to have exhausted their usefulness inside of four years. . While there has been a disposition among people who arc feeling the depression to keep their cars off the road, quite a number have been re-licensed recently that have not been in use since 1929. Motor-vehicles, the registration of which continues while the car is off the road and not licensed, "dormant" vehicles as they are called, account for 27,140 of the total' Now Zealand registration?.