MISCInfographic: The Longest Lasting Cars, in Miles

[wemay]

American vehicles get a bad wrap but many are very long lasting according to this article. I wish Chevy didn't discontinue the Impala.

Infographic: The Longest Lasting Cars, in Miles

Japanese automakers like Toyota are known to produce some of the longest lasting cars in the world, but does the data support this claim?

www.visualcapitalist.com

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

It’s interesting, but deceiving. You’ll note on top infographic for cars they use typical life of a 70s car @ 100k, and on SUVs they use typical life of a 2000s car @ 200k. The results are technically correct, but without sample sizes and a Student’s t-test the discerning reader can’t truly tell if the Avalon is better than any other car, or if any of the cars not in the top 5 are worse than the ones that are. This is exactly why politicians and marketing folks love data- you can be deceitful and truthful at the same time.

Thanks wemay! 👍🏻

 

[JoelB]

What does long lasting even mean? Isn't this all just based around what people are willing to pay to keep a car going?

 

[aquariuscsm]

I wonder if they mean long lasting by just everyday driving before any major repair?

 

[Astro14]

Pretty much convinces me to buy a Tundra… oh, wait…

 

[wpod]

Some marques are higher quality than others but I am sure the maintenance and operating conditions have lots to do with long life.

 

[eljefino]

What does long lasting even mean? Isn't this all just based around what people are willing to pay to keep a car going?

In a nutshell. It helps if the owners like the cars, but for this graphic you have to throw in sensible people with long commutes so they can rack up the mileage before rust gets the car.

 

[IndyIan]

I'm surprised the Prius isn't on there, they've been doing taxi service in many places for quite a while, and its a favorite around here for people who do a lot of miles.

 

[KrisZ]

Pretty much convinces me to buy a Tundra… oh, wait…

Not that I pay much attention to these studies, but the pickup showings are not that impressive IMO. With all that “heavy duty” marketing, I would expect the pickups to have higher accumulated miles than sedans, but all mileages across different platforms seem to be quite similar.

 

[joekingcorvette]

Hmmm.......A Chevrolet Impala over a Honda Accord. I have to question that one.

 

[wemay]

It’s interesting, but deceiving. You’ll note on top infographic for cars they use typical life of a 70s car @ 100k, and on SUVs they use typical life of a 2000s car @ 200k. The results are technically correct, but without sample sizes and a Student’s t-test the discerning reader can’t truly tell if the Avalon is better than any other car, or if any of the cars not in the top 5 are worse than the ones that are. This is exactly why politicians and marketing folks love data- you can be deceitful and truthful at the same time.

Thanks wemay! 👍🏻

100%

 

[wemay]

Hmmm.......A Chevrolet Impala over a Honda Accord. I have to question that one.

That stood out to me as well. But from what i recall, the Impala was a solid vehicle.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Pretty much convinces me to buy a Tundra… oh, wait…

Or a used one like a cheapskate like me?

 

[PF52]

It’s interesting, but deceiving. You’ll note on top infographic for cars they use typical life of a 70s car @ 100k, and on SUVs they use typical life of a 2000s car @ 200k.

I think they're inadvertently making the graphics confusing. The "70s car @ 100K" and "modern car @ 200K" tags aren't necessarily related to the vehicles pictured there.

 

[Astro14]

Or a used one like a cheapskate like me?

Honestly, when I was truck shopping 6+ years ago, used Tundras (and Tacomas) were very expensive.

Not quite as bad as things are now, but still crazy expensive for used. E.G. dealers were asking $40,000 for a 2 year old truck that had an MSRP of $46,000 new.

At those prices, I bought new.

No regrets.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

I think they're inadvertently making the graphics confusing. The "70s car @ 100K" and "modern car @ 200K" tags aren't necessarily related to the vehicles pictured there.

Nope, it’s intentional, not inadvertent. If they wanted to be truthful, they would have shown both the 100k and 200k lines on the car graph. Not because they’re the same models, but because they’re the same product family. And it still doesn’t change the fact that by excluding sample size & statistical similarity (or dissimilarity), they’re attempting to imply some models are better than others without providing the info that actually allows that determination to be based in fact. When looking at the raw data, for example, a t-test may tell you with 99% confidence that there is absolutely no difference between the “average” 200k mile vehicle and the 243k mile Avalon, meaning that graph was useful for absolutely nothing at all; or it may tell you that the Avalon is statistically better than every other car on the list. More data is required to interpret what this graph actually tells you.

Always remember that there’s lies, d***ed lies, and statistics! 😂

 

[PF52]

Nope, it’s intentional, not inadvertent. If they wanted to be truthful, they would have shown both the 100k and 200k lines on the car graph.

That certainly would have been more helpful I think.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

That certainly would have been more helpful I think.

Sure, but again it doesn’t truly tell you anything without the info I explained earlier. Even at both “reference” mileages, this graph is nothing but a play on your emotions; there’s no real “there” there without standard deviations & confidence interval.

 

[wemay]

Or a used one like a cheapskate like me?

At this point in time, with the new Tundra having teething turbo issues, I'd prefer a V8 Tundra too.

 

[ctechbob]

Suburban, Yukon, and Tahoe...seems like that could have been squashed down to 1 line. Almost all the same thing in my eyes.