My first car was a 1969 black Volkswagen bug. It was a beauty. I drove it to school every day, and the thing worked like magic. I took good care of it too. I kept my little Bug extremely clean all the time. An early sign of my OCD behavior, no. doubt.
My parents bought the car from Ethel Kohler, who lived in a pale yellow house across the street from us. Ethel was a kind woman who baked great cookies and always had one for me when I knocked on her back door. Her husband, Alfred, was a cheery sort with a thick mustache, thick glasses, and lots of stubble on his face.
I got curious and looked for more information on Ancestry and Find A Grave. Alfred died in 1972. He was only 64 years old when he passed. He seemed ancient to me. They both did.
And then, Ethel died on my dad’s birthday, July 9, 1979, at the age of 71. I don’t know how she died, but I vaguely remember this. She had gone to live in a nursing home and sold the car to us before she went. At any rate, they kept the VW in their garage, and every time they brought it home, they wiped it down and covered it with its very own VW car cover.
I was thinking about cars because on this date, March 16, 1968, General Motors produced its 100 millionth automobile. It was an Oldsmobile Toronado.
The Toronado. The “Tornado” could also be The House of Zorro, a Fender guitar, or an Irish thoroughbred racehorse. But in this case, it was the 100 millionth car from GM.
.
That’s a lot of cars. This made me wonder how many cars have been made throughout history. Many people have made calculations. It seems to be a figure pretty close to 2.2 billion.
Today, there are 1.446 billion cars in the world. Give or take a few. Most are in Asia, followed by Europe and North America.
And here are some car facts from The Hedges Company.
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This is how many cars there are in the world, including trucks, broken down by world region.
1). Asia: 531 million vehicles on the road
2). Europe: 405.3 million vehicles (282 million in EU plus 123 million in non-EU countries)
3). North America: 351 million vehicles
4). South America: 83 million vehicles
5). Middle East: 49 million vehicles
6). Africa: 26 million vehicles
7). Antarctica: about 50 vehicles
Here is a breakdown of vehicles per capita by world region.
1). North America: 0.71 vehicles per capita/710 vehicles per thousand people
2). Europe: 0.52 vehicles per capita/520 vehicles per thousand people
3). South America: 0.22 vehicles per capita/220 vehicles per thousand people
4). Middle East: 0.18 vehicles per capita/180 vehicles per thousand people
5). Asia/Pacific: 0.14 vehicles per capita/140 vehicles per thousand people
6). Africa: 0.05 vehicles per capita/50 vehicles per thousand people
7). Antarctica: 0.05 vehicles per capita/50 vehicles per thousand people
Here are the top countries for vehicles per capita and GDP per capita, revised for 2022:
1). United States: 0.89 vehicles per capita/890 vehicles per thousand people/$59,900 GDP per capita
2). New Zealand: 0.88 vehicles per capita/884 vehicles per thousand people/$40,700 GDP per capita
3). Canada: 0.79 vehicles per capita/790 vehicles per thousand people/$46,500 GDP per capita
4). Cyprus: 0.79 vehicles per capita/785 vehicles per thousand people/$26,624 GDP per capita
5). Luxembourg: 0.78 vehicles per capita/784 vehicles per thousand people/$115,873 GDP per capita
6). Australia: 0.78 vehicles per capita/782 vehicles per thousand people/$49,300 GDP per capita
7). Poland: 0.77 vehicles per capita/771 vehicles per thousand people/$29,900 GDP per capita
8). Italy: 0.76 vehicles per capita/755 vehicles per thousand people/$40,900 GDP per capita
9). Iceland: 0.72 vehicles per capita/720 vehicles per thousand people/$55,300 GDP per capita
10). Estonia: 0.71 vehicles per capita/715 vehicles per thousand people/$33,500 GDP per capita
11). France: 0.69 vehicles per capita/668 vehicles per thousand people/$38,625 GDP per capita
So that’s it. I’m thankful for that old VW. For old Ethel and old Al. And all the other 100 million old wonders of this world.
Vroooom.
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Today, I drive a BMW. A lot different from my VW.
And so we change.
Even our cars.
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“Take care of your car in the garage, and the car will take care of you on the road.”
– Amit Kalantri
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“Always focus on the front windshield and not the review mirror.”
― Colin Powell
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“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers.”
― Dave Barry, Dave Barry Turns Fifty
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https://hedgescompany.com/blog/2021/06/how-many-cars-are-there-in-the-world/#:~:text=There%20are%201.446%20billion%20cars,are%20in%20the%20United%20States.
The wheels go round and round, they do.
