ABSTRACT
The position of the United States in 1929 seems to have been that the average age of the vehicle fleet was rather low in that year because both private motorists and businessmen had replaced their vehicles during the boom. The fashion element in demand that raises the level of private car sales when new models are introduced is largely absent in the case of commercial vehicles, although its effect on business demand for cars is probably appreciable. Taxation has played a part in the development of commercial vehicles as well as in the development of cars. The recognition of the fact that the basic demand for vehicles is a demand for ownership helps towards an understanding of the forces affecting the demand for second-hand as well as new vehicles. The tax on fuel was raised to compensate for the loss of revenue from the annual tax, some of the burden thus being shifted to commercial vehicles.
