The Nation: ... And Paying for It

Such upward mobility comes high.

In a study released last week, the Government estimates that the average American motorist will spend $13,552.95 to operate his 1972 car over the next ten years and/or 100,000 miles. That assumes he buys a standard-size sedan for about $4,400. Where does all the money go? It includes gas ($2,787), maintenance ($2,147), insurance ($1,350), parking and tolls ($1,800) and taxes ($1,319). And that does not include the average eleven new tires an owner is likely to buy on what the report calls a car's "100,000-mile, ten-year trip from the assembly line to the junkyard."

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