Here is a very touchy subject that has been beat to death over the Internet for years. But the only real answer anyone has come up with is just to agree to disagree. The problem here is that there are several ways to look at this scenario.

On the side of our environment, it is easy to make the case that the newer vehicles today are much more efficient. Just look at the fuel economy comparisons of old and new cars, not to mention their overall emission ratings.

Among a world of recycling, where do these cars go that we get rid of in order to purchase a new one? That’s right, they go to another driver who will continue to drive the car, therefore emitting the same poorer emissions into the environment that you were trying to save the world from in the first place.

We could destroy all the older cars. The government could create a mandate for everyone to bring in their old cars to be destroyed and then receive vouchers for discounts to newer, more efficient vehicles.

That would probably not be such a great idea either…

Just like trash, old cars do not necessarily get recycled. Just look around at the number of junk yards in the world. These cars just sit around taking up space just like all the other leftover McDonald wrappers sitting at your local dump.

It really is a complicated question, because while our technology is constantly advancing, there will always being leftover technology lingering long after the new. Just like when they came out with the new DVD system, Blu-Ray… or the new broadcast system of HDTV.

It takes several years before a typical person can replace old technology. People just can’t afford to keep up with all the purchases necessary, especially with the economy the way it is today. Blu-Ray maybe better, but there are going to be a lot of consumers who just assume stay with the original DVD’s.

This is of course the other way that people look at this question, from the perspective of what males economic sense. While most experts will tell you that it is by far better to go with the new… there can be made a very strong case for why economically it is better to keep an older reliable car.

What is the answer to this ongoing dilemma?