VETERAN CARE.

Shannon News, 4 May 1928, Page 4

VETERAN CARE.

The average life of a car in New Zealand is estimated at about 10 years. This does not mean that the majority of cars are owned by one motorist for that period; In the Dominion most cars change hands after three or four .years, and when they become six or seven years old they often pass rapidly from garage to new owner and then back to the used car showroom again. The high cost of cars in New Zealand is responsible for this extraction of the last mile. In the United States scrapping after five years is popular and the derelicts do not remain on the market to the same extent as in countries not produce. Although' cheap cars do not enjoy very long lives in Europe, the higherpriced types are run for periods which Would surprise the American motorist. Statistics of the cars in regular service in France at the end of 1927 showed that one car 18$ years old was still running. Two had 17$ years to their credit, and six had been 16$ years on the road. No less than 45 were 15$ years old and 140 had been in operation for 14$ years. These figures do not include the hundreds of old ears which lie about in garages and occasionally make a short run for advertising purposes.

A Rumanian prince recently reported that his car was still running after 20 years. It has covered 155,000 miles, principally in the Alps. A taxi built id 1909 is still running in Genoa after 320,000 miles.