It really kinda cheeses me off the way the dealers label the year of the car. For example:

I own a S2000 that I bought in the year 2000, and its a 2000 year model car.

I own a Ford Explorer Sportrak that I bought several months BEFORE I bought my 2000-S2000...and its a "2001" Sportrak. So, now my car is "older" than my truck. Makes no sense to me. Ohh-- both were "made" in the same year.

-- Aaron
p.s. Don't ask me why I have a Ford-- brain fart I think... never again.

 

Same with magazines. You might get the August issue in late June. It's not really the August issue if you're reading it in June, now is it?

I don't know the history of the automotive model year. Traditionally, though (speaking in my 22 year lifetime), the new cars were introduced in January or February (car shows) and went on sale in the fall (September or October) as the next calendar year model. Some manufacturers have been increasingly jumping the gun and pushing the new models back into mid-summer releases. When I bought my MY2001 S2000 in May, there were already numerous 2002 model year cars out.

Part of the reason may be sales trends - sales are best in spring and summer (bad economic times aside), then spiral downwards through fall and winter. By releasing new models in the fall, the sales figures may stay a bit more level. Just a theory there, however.

I guess the auto makers think they are fooling us into 'getting next years car early' or something.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by amartin
[B]It really kinda cheeses me off the way the dealers label the year of the car.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by amartin
[B]It really kinda cheeses me off the way the dealers label the year of the car.

 

Actually, I'm with Aaron on this one. I bought my Accord a month after my S2K it's an '01, while the S2K is '00 , I mean in some minds that just made my S a year older, when in reality it is only a month!
I think it should be standardized

 

We bought our 2000 Xterra in May '99.

Scam indeed. Just another way to hit you at the trade-in for your mileage.

 

This doesn't happen in Australia. People either talk about the build date or the date first registered, and always specify which. To me it's absurd to call a car built and registered in 2001 a 2002 model.

 

This has never really bothered me. It's just a label, a way of indicating which production batch the car was in. For our cars, the first production batch (MY2000) was longer than a calendar year, going from about April '99 to August '00. The only confusing thing is occasionally seeing references to the "1999 Honda S2000", which never existed. I'm just glad I didn't have to wait till Jan. '00 to get mine!

I think there are advantages to the consumer, too: the carmaker must meet the model year's requirements on emissions, safety, etc. even if the calendar year hasn't quite arrived; on resale, the car can appear "younger" by having a more recent model year; etc.

So if a company like Subaru wants to release their MY2002 WRX in March of 2001, I say more power to 'em.

 

Well, y'all cn blame ford for screwing up the release cycles (can anyone guess which car that was?), but the 'marketing date' model year thing has gotten really out of hand. At least back in the 60's they called it a '64 1/2 - today would have been a '66...