FEWER NEW CARS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 114, 6 January 1932, Page 6

FEWER NEW CARS

PRONOUNCED FALL IN REGISTRATIONS FOR YEAR MAKING THE OLD BUS DO_ While the motoring habit, once acauired, 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 cai-s in their possession to make shorter pleasure trips. The registration figures show that the total up to the end of November last, 227,060, more than doubled the figures in 1925. These latest returns show that there were 144,724 motorvehicles registered in the North Island, of which 97,402 were cars, 26,173 commercial vehicles, and 21,149 cycles, while 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 the registration in cancelled. Caneelled registrations total 44,356. Steep Drop Last Year

The position regarding newly purchased vehicles is show.n by the reeent registrations, which give a deeided falling off compared with the last few years and a more rapid decline last year. Registration in 1929 were between 2,000 and 3,000 every month, and December, always a big month, reached 3,861, but in 1930 the registrations were only four times over 2,000, and in 1931 they were only once over 1,000. The pronounced fall really set in in November, 1930, but there is an evident L'urther gradual decrease in the year's monthly figures, which run 98S, 936, 982, 870, 763, 1,405 (June, being the heginning of the year, has always a big registration), 829, 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 the leeway in the purchase of British cars is encouraging, but there is still much leeway to make *up. It is noteworthy that one mass-proauced American car so preponderates in the saies that if it were excluded from the figures, British cars would ha well ahead of American and other makes comhined. For November 239 British cars were purchased, as against 309 American and Canadian cars, while cars made elsewhere totalled only six.

Make It Do 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 be revised. Nine years are now provided for, and even that may prove to be insufncient 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 hest. Agents, puzzled two years ago by what to do with the numerous second^hand cars that were :raded 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 are feeling the depression to keep their cars off the road, quite a number have been re-lieensed recently that have not been in use since 1929. Motor-vshicle, 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 New Zealand registrations.