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Automobile Profile

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FINANCIAL

  1960 1970 1980 1990 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Personal auto expenditures, totala ($ millions) 40,486 74,590 211,463 380,092 445,146 465,166 497,891 523,128 532,547 576,729 632,052 (R) 634,727 (R) 623,469 649,656
New and used carsa,1 16,600 26,700 57,200 119,000 133,200 132,600 136,000 139,400 147,300 158,400 164,300 (R) 162,900 (R) 160,000 151,400
Tires, tubes, accessories, and parts1 2,500 6,100 17,900 29,900 36,000 37,800 40,300 41,900 43,900 47,000 49,000 49,100 (R) 50,700 53,200
Gasoline and oil1 12,000 21,900 86,700 111,200 116,200 120,200 130,400 134,400 122,400 137,900 175,700 171,600 (R) 163,400 191,300
Tolls1 300 700 1,100 2,300 3,400 3,700 4,000 4,400 4,400 4,800 5,100 (R) 5,100 (R) 5,800 6,600
Insurance premiums less claims paid1 2,000 3,800 9,400 23,500 32,800 34,500 36,700 37,800 40,400 43,200 43,000 44,600 (R) 45,800 48,700
Repair, greasing, washing, parking, storage, rental, and leasing1 5,500 12,300 34,000 84,900 112,500 125,500 138,700 152,900 161,100 172,600 183,500 189,100 (R) 186,000 186,200
Auto registration fees2 867 1,668 2,893 6,054 7,423 7,043 7,698 8,163 8,630 8,625 7,607 8,278 7,415 7,478
Driver's license fees2 119 222 370 638 823 823 893 865 917 904 745 849 954 1,078
Taxi expenditures ($ millions)1 600 1,200 1,900 2,600 2,800 3,000 3,200 3,300 3,500 3,300 3,100 3,200 (R) 3,400 3,700

INVENTORY

  1960 1970 1980 1990 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Number of vehicle registrations                            
Passenger car3 61,671,390 89,243,557 121,600,843 133,700,496 127,883,469 128,386,775 129,728,341 129,748,704 131,838,538 132,432,044 133,621,420 137,633,467 135,920,677 135,669,897
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle3 e 14,210,591 27,875,934 48,274,555 62,903,589 65,738,322 68,933,798 70,224,082 71,330,205 75,356,376 79,084,979 84,187,636 85,011,305 87,031,533
Motorcycle4 574,032 2,824,098 5,693,940 4,259,462 3,756,555 3,897,191 3,871,237 3,826,373 3,879,450 4,152,433 4,346,068 4,903,056 5,004,156 5,370,035
Motor vehicle licensed drivers5 87,252,563 111,542,787 145,295,036 167,015,250 175,403,465 176,628,482 179,539,340 182,709,204 184,860,969 187,170,420 190,625,023 191,275,719 194,295,633 196,165,667
Number of employees6 (based on SIC)                            
Taxicabs 120,700 106,400 52,500 32,400 30,800 30,700 30,500 30,600 31,200 31,600 31,900 31,800 30,800 N
Automotive dealers and service stations 1,267,200 1,617,400 1,688,500 2,063,100 2,116,200 2,189,600 2,266,700 2,310,800 2,332,300 2,368,100 2,409,600 2,424,800 2,432,200 N
Motor vehicles, parts, and supplies N N 434,300 456,000 471,400 492,100 502,800 513,000 516,600 523,700 516,800 502,100 498,000 N
Auto repair, services, and parking N N 570,900 913,700 968,300 1,020,100 1,080,000 1,119,600 1,145,200 1,196,400 1,234,200 1,257,200 1,263,200 N
Number of employees7 (based on NAICS)                            
Taxi service N N N 33,600 31,600 31,600 31,400 31,600 32,300 32,700 33,100 33,100 31,800 31,500
Wholesale motor vehicles and parts N N N 309,400 319,900 334,600 342,500 350,200 353,600 359,500 355,700 347,300 345,600 344,400
Retail motor vehicle and parts dealers N N N 1,494,400 1,564,700 1,627,100 1,685,600 1,723,400 1,740,900 1,796,600 1,846,900 1,854,600 1,879,400 1,883,500
Gasoline stations N N N 910,200 902,300 922,300 946,400 956,200 961,300 943,500 935,700 925,300 895,900 879,900
Parking lots and garages N N N 67,600 71,100 74,800 78,400 81,800 84,700 88,900 92,800 95,500 95,900 99,200
Automotive repair and maintenance N N N 659,400 701,300 737,900 781,400 810,500 828,300 864,200 888,100 903,900 899,600 896,500

PERFORMANCE

  1960 1970 1980 1990 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Vehicle-miles, total (millions) 587,012 1,042,965 1,412,745 1,992,394 2,276,276 2,238,120 2,294,703 2,363,376 2,428,135 2,480,706 2,533,815 2,581,178 2,634,060 2,668,371
Passenger car, totala, 8 587,012 919,679 1,121,810 1,417,823 1,501,402 1,438,294 1,468,854 1,502,556 1,549,577 1,569,100 1,600,287 1,628,332 1,658,474 1,660,828
Rural highway, total 313,623 424,088 450,659 547,910 526,764 523,834 535,951 551,080 574,979 584,765 593,391 604,677 608,939 578,023
Rural interstate N 62,342 89,488 117,519 119,535 114,933 119,268 120,045 127,335 130,856 134,466 135,966 138,819 132,636
Rural other arterial 233,452 182,213 180,857 211,066 212,418 210,553 216,074 220,180 228,847 231,117 234,743 236,337 238,009 224,324
Other rural roads 80,171 179,533 180,314 219,325 194,810 198,348 200,609 210,855 218,797 222,792 224,182 232,374 232,111 221,063
Urban highway, totalb 273,389 495,591 671,151 869,912 974,638 914,460 932,903 951,476 974,598 984,335 1,006,896 1,023,655 1,049,535 1,082,805
Urban interstate N 69,369 124,480 184,783 217,174 204,035 210,302 214,016 220,487 224,132 230,510 236,983 243,521 252,609
Other urban N 426,222 546,671 685,129 757,465 710,425 722,601 737,460 754,111 760,203 776,386 786,672 806,014 830,196
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle, total9 e 123,286 290,935 574,571 764,634 790,029 815,936 850,739 868,275 901,022 923,059 943,207 (R) 966,034 998,004
Rural highway, total e 73,591 149,560 227,831 285,325 295,472 306,891 327,316 334,806 351,658 360,355 374,736 (R) 384,185 376,924
Rural interstate e 6,766 19,952 46,298 60,849 63,329 65,779 69,030 72,343 76,190 79,088 82,356 (R) 85,132 83,117
Rural other arterial e 29,808 56,137 87,474 113,595 118,305 122,211 129,890 132,043 138,475 141,257 146,525 (R) 150,758 149,184
Other rural roads e 37,017 73,471 94,059 110,881 113,838 118,901 128,396 130,420 136,993 140,010 145,855 (R) 148,295 144,623
Urban highway, totalb e 49,695 141,375 346,739 479,308 494,557 509,045 523,423 533,469 549,364 562,704 568,471 (R) 581,849 621,080
Urban interstate e 6,252 23,067 71,500 105,317 109,807 112,908 116,680 121,700 124,399 128,291 127,989 (R) 130,174 142,626
Other urban e 43,443 118,308 275,239 373,991 384,750 396,136 406,743 411,769 424,965 434,413 440,482 (R) 451,675 478,454
Motorcycle, totala, 8 f f f f 10,240 9,797 9,913 10,081 10,283 10,584 10,469 9,639 9,552 9,539
Rural highway, total f f f f 4,402 4,098 4,070 4,147 4,279 4,448 4,507 4,383 4,445 4,314
Rural interstate f f f f 1,279 1,058 1,056 1,050 1,112 1,100 1,164 1,121 1,212 1,273
Rural other arterial f f f f 1,698 1,510 1,500 1,552 1,588 1,662 1,680 1,649 1,623 1,493
Other rural roads f f f f 1,425 1,530 1,513 1,545 1,579 1,686 1,663 1,613 1,610 1,548
Urban highway, totalb f f f f 5,838 5,699 5,843 5,934 6,004 6,136 5,962 5,256 5,107 5,225
Urban interstate f f f f 1,420 1,454 1,516 1,509 1,579 1,690 1,692 1,546 1,670 1,909
Other urban f f f f 4,418 4,245 4,327 4,425 4,425 4,446 4,270 3,710 3,437 3,316
Passenger-miles, total (millions)3 1,145,000 1,979,787 2,545,020 3,037,244 3,612,100 3,553,810 3,643,719 3,752,829 3,855,696 3,939,137 4,023,637 4,247,094 (R) 4,307,312 4,366,441
Passenger cars (a,c) 1,145,000 (a.c) 1,754,174 (a,c) 2,024,246 (c) 2,140,913 (c) 2,600,050 2,286,887 2,335,478 2,389,065 2,463,828 2,494,870 2,544,457 2,556,481 (R) 2,620,389 2,624,108
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle e 225,613 520,774 896,331 1,012,050 1,256,146 1,297,337 1,352,675 1,380,557 1,432,625 1,467,664 1,678,853 (R) 1,674,792 1,730,218
Motorcycle f f f f 11,264 10,777 10,904 11,089 11,311 11,642 11,516 11,760 (R) 12,131 12,115
Average miles traveled per vehicle3                            
Passenger car (c) 9,518 (c) 9,989 (c) 8,813 (c) 10,277 (c) 10,759 11,203 11,323 11,581 11,754 11,848 11,976 11,831 (R) 12,202 12,242
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle e 8,676 10,437 11,902 12,156 12,018 11,837 12,115 12,173 11,957 11,672 11,204 (R) 11,364 11,467
Motorcycle f f f f 2,726 2,514 2,561 2,635 2,651 2,549 2,409 1,966 1,909 1,776
Fuel consumed (million gallons)3                            
Passenger cars (c) 41,171 (c) 67,879 (c) 70,186 (c) 69,759 (c) 68,079 68,072 68,897 69,892 71,695 73,283 73,065 73,559 (R) 75,471 74,590
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle e 12,313 23,796 35,611 44,112 45,605 47,133 49,388 50,462 52,859 52,939 53,522 (R) 55,220 56,302
Motorcycle f f f f 205 196 198 202 206 212 209 193 191 191
Average fuel consumption per vehicle (gallons)3                            
Passenger cars (c) 668 (c) 737 (c) 551 (c) 506 (c) 517 530 531 539 544 553 547 534 (R) 555 550
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle e 866 854 738 701 694 684 703 707 701 669 636 (R) 650 647
Motorcycle f f f f 55 50 51 53 53 51 48 39 38 36
Average miles traveled per gallon of fuel consumed3                            
Passenger cars (c) 14 (c) 14 (c) 16.0 (c) 20.3 (c) 21 21.1 21.3 21.5 21.6 21.4 21.9 22.1 (R) 22.0 22.3
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle e 10.0 12.2 16.1 17.3 17.3 17.3 17.2 17.2 17.0 17.4 17.6 (R) 17.5 17.7
Motorcycle f f f f 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50

SAFETY10

  1960 1970 1980 1990 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Number of occupants and nonoccupant fatalities                            
Passenger car N N 27,449 24,092 21,997 22,423 22,505 22,199 21,194 20,862 20,699 20,320 (R) 20,569 19,460
Motorcycle 790 2,280 5,144 3,244 2,320 2,227 2,161 2,116 2,294 2,483 2,897 3,197 (R) 3,270 3,661
Light Truck N N 7,486 8,601 8,904 9,568 9,932 10,249 10,705 11,265 11,526 11,723 12,274 12,444
Bicycled 490 760 965 859 802 833 765 814 760 754 693 732 (R) 665 622
Pedestriand 7,210 8,950 8,070 6,482 5,489 5,584 5,449 5,321 5,228 4,939 4,763 4,901 (R) 4,851 4,749
Occupant fatality rates                            
Per 100 million vehicle-miles                            
Passenger car 4.7 3.8 2.5 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2
Light Truck N N 2.5 1.6 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
Motorcycle N 76.5 50.4 33.9 22.7 22.7 21.8 21.0 22.3 23.5 27.7 33.2 (R) 34.2 38.4
Per 10,000 registered vehicles                            
Passenger car 5.1 3.9 2.6 2.0 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.5
Light Truck N N 2.5 1.7 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
Motorcycle 13.8 8.1 9.0 7.6 6.2 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.9 6.0 6.7 6.5 6.5 6.8
Vehicle involvement rate (fatal crashes)                            
Per 100 million vehicle-miles                            
Passenger car N 5.6 3.5 2.4 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.0 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.6
Light Truck N N 4.3 2.8 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.1
Motorcycle N 22.9 50.9 34.3 22.8 23.2 21.9 21.4 22.7 23.9 28.4 33.9 (R) 35.2 39.3
Per 10,000 registered vehicles                            
Passenger car N 5.6 3.7 2.8 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.0
Light Truck N N 4.2 3.1 2.7 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.6
Motorcycle N 8.2 9.1 7.7 6.2 5.8 5.6 5.6 6.0 6.1 6.8 6.7 6.7 7.0

KEY: E = estimate; N = data do not exist; R = revised; U = data are not available.

NOTES

a Figures obtained by addition / subtraction and may not appear directly in data source.

b Urban consists of travel on all roads and streets in urban places of 5,000 or greater population.

c Includes motorcycle data.

d Involvement only with motor vehicle.

e Included in single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more truck category.

f Included in passenger cars.

SOURCES

Unless otherwise noted, refer to chapter tables for sources.

1 U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Income and Product Accounts Tables, table 2.5.5 available at http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/dn/nipaweb/AllTables.asp as of January 2005.

2 1960-95: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, FHWA-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table MV-202.

1996-2003: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table MV-2 (revised tables used when applicable).

3 1960-94: Ibid., Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, FHWA-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table VM-201A, table revised in June 1999.

1995-2003: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1 (revised tables used when applicable).

4 1960-94: Ibid., Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table MV-201.

1995-2003: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1 (revised tables used when applicable).

5 1960-95: Ibid., Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, FHWA-Pl-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table DL-201.

1996-2003: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table DL-22 (revised tables used when applicable).

6 1960-2002: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS Database, Internet site http://www.bls.gov/data/sa.htm as of April 2004; codes "414120 Taxicabs," "605500 Automotive Dealers and Service Stations," "525010 Motor Vehicle Parts, and Supplies" and "807500 Auto Repair, Services, and Parking."

7 1990-2003: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS Database, Internet site http://www.bls.gov/data/sa.htm as of January 2005; codes "48531 Taxi service," "4231 Wholesale motor vehicles and parts," "441 Retail motor vehicle and parts dealers," "447 Gasoline stations," "81293 Parking lots and garages," "8111 Automotive repair and maintenance."

8 1960-90: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table VM-201.

1994-2003: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1 (revised tables used when applicable).

9 1970-94: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table VM-201.

1995-2003: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1 (revised tables used when applicable).

10 U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Traffic Safety Facts 2003, DOT HS 809 775, (Washington, DC: January 2005), tables 3, 4, 7, 8, and 10.
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