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If you think today’s cars are built better than those in the good old days, it isn’t just your imagination.   According to R. L. Polk & Co., the automotive data provider that tracks such things, current vehicles are less likely to go to the junk heap than ever. In 2005,  just 4.3% of total passenger cars and trucks were scrapped, and this overall motor vehicle scrappage rate represents a historic low, besting a mark set in 1949 when a slow startup of auto production after World War II meant new cars were hard to come by.

Another indication that cars are lasting longer is the increasing median age of U.S. vehicles, which has increased across all major vehicle categories.   Median car age  Read more . . .