Survey: 88 percent of Americans can't live without cars

Percentage of the U.S. public that says cars are a necessity, not a luxury that can be lived without, according to a Pew Research Center for the People and the Press survey: 88

Percentage who say a clothes washer is a necessity: 90

Ranks of a clothes dryer (83 percent), home air conditioning (70 percent), microwave (68 percent) and TV set (64 percent) on the list of amenities that Americans consider as necessary: 3, 4, 5, 6

Cashing in on clunkers

While the recent Cash For Clunkers program did boost new car sales, percentage of the expected decline in used car sales in 2009 that can be attributed to the program, according to industry research firm IBISWorld: 7

Estimated number of new car sales this year: 10.5 million (20.5 percent lower than in 2008)

Average annual saving in gasoline bills for those consumers who replace their clunker with a new fuel-efficient vehicle, according to CashForClunkersInformation.org's statistics from the "Clunker Report": $750

Percentage of clunkers traded in that are SUVs, trucks and vans with more than 100,000 miles: 79

Average age of the trade-ins: 13 years

Waning production levels

Percentage drop in North American car and truck production in the first seven weeks of 2009 versus the same period in 2008, according to Viraf Baliwalla, a consumer advocate for car buyers and founder of Automall Network: 40 (down to 886,614 from 2,157,688 units)

Advertised cost of a new Chevy Malibu with approximately $4,000 in manufacturer rebates: $22,000

Cost to the consumer for a brand-new midsize vehicle if the government were to match the rebates rather than handing out bailouts: $14,000

In the shop

Average percentage more that vehicle repairs cost at new car dealerships than at independent repair shops, according to a study released by the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association: 34.3

Resulting excess costs annually to consumers: $11.7 billion

Lessons and new wheels

Percentage of car buyers who said that their worst mistake when purchasing a car was overpaying for a new car that quickly depreciated in value, according to a survey of U.S. adults conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of CarMax: 26

Percentage who said that their worst mistake was not doing enough research: 22

Percentage of Americans who say that the best way to sell their car would be to do it privately: 36

Percentage who would opt to trade it in at a dealership: 30

Road-trip ready

Rank of the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI on the list of best cars for a cross-country road trip, according to the Kelley Blue Book: 1

Rank of the Porsche Cayman S on the list of best cars for a solo journey: 1

Rank of the Ford F-150 on the list of best vehicles for a towing trip: 1

Stripped-down sales

Estimated number of times more than the value of the car that its parts can be stripped at a chop shop and sold for on the used car market, according to Hot Wheels 2009, the National Insurance Crime Bureau's companion study to its popular Hot Spots auto theft report: 2

Ranks of the 1994 Honda Accord, 1995 Honda Civic, 1989 Toyota Camry and the 1997 Ford F-150 pickup on the list of the most stolen vehicles in 2008: 1, 2, 3, 4

All fueled up

Year that the U.S. began rationing gasoline to three gallons per week to help the war effort, a rule kept in effect until the end of the war, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1942

National speed limit for the same period: 35 mph

Estimated number of gas stations across the U.S. today: 131,000

Estimated number of gallons of gas they sell each year: 175 billion

Road rage

Ranks of talking on their cell phones, driving too fast, tailgating, and eating or drinking while driving as the behaviors by other drivers that cause stress for commuters and can lead to road rage, according to a survey by AutoVantage: 1, 2, 3, 4

Percentage of commuters who admit to reacting to bad driving by honking their horn at the offending driver: 43

Percentage who curse at the other driver: 36

Percentage who make an obscene gesture: 9

Miles to go

In the first nine months of 2008, number of fewer miles that Americans drove than they did during the same period a year earlier, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Transportation: 53.2 billionJohn MacIntyre is a Nova Scotia-based author and former city magazine editor. His "Figuratively Speaking" column, launched in 1989, is published in more than 40 newspapers and magazines.