In Morigia the average age of cars that are still in use has historica

Question

In Morigia the average age of cars that are still in use has historically been seven years, but now it is nearly nine years. Car manufacturers claim that the current poor economy has forced people to put off buying new cars, and thus when the economy improves, the average age of cars will return to former levels.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the car manufacturers' prediction?

(A) Fewer cars per year are now being manufactured in Morigia than were being manufactured there five years ago.

(B) When the threat of job loss is particularly strong, people are reluctant to commit themselves to expensive purchases.

(C) The older a car is, the greater the amount of upkeep it requires.

(D) The air-pollution control devices now being used in cars manufactured in Morigia cost less than those that were used seven years ago.

(E) Most people in Morigia now believe that replacing an old car with a new one has very undesirable ecological consequences.

KarishmaB · Accepted Answer

Option (A) is actually a result of 'people putting off buying new cars'. It is not the reason why people are putting off buying new cars. The supply is controlled by the demand. The car manufacturers make cars according to the demand. Since fewer people are buying cars, fewer cars are being manufactured now. The car manufacturers are hoping that when the economy improves, people will start buying more cars (just an inference from the tone of the argument) . They will obviously not keep the supply the same. If the demand increases, they will increase the supply.

As we see, (E) works out well. Obviously, our assumption of the relation between supply and demand in option (A) is correct.

qhoc0010 · Answer

OA is (E)
What about (A)? (A) says that there are fewer cars, but look at the formular to calculate average age: total age/total cars. So fewer cars -> higher average

achan · Answer

IMO E

In Morigia the average age of cars that are still in use has historically been seven years, but now it is nearly nine years. Car manufacturers claim that the current poor economy has forced people to put off buying new cars, and thus when the economy improves, the average age of cars will return to former levels.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the car manufacturers' prediction?
(A) Fewer cars per year are now being manufactured in Morigia than were being manufactured there five years ago.
 --cars need not be manufactured in Morigia 
(B) When the threat of job loss is particularly strong, people are reluctant to commit themselves to expensive purchases. 
 --Irrelevent 
(C) The older a car is, the greater the amount of upkeep it requires.
 --Irrelevent 
(D) The air-pollution control devices now being used in cars manufactured in Morigia cost less than those that were used seven years ago.
 --Irrelevent 
(E) Most people in Morigia now believe that replacing an old car with a new one has very undesirable ecological consequences
 --Even if the economy improves people will not buy new cars

seekmba · Answer

E it is.

People are not buying new cars not because of the weak economy (as manufacturer's predict) but because the new cars will have undesirable ecological consequences....thereby weakening manufacturer's prediction.

AbhiJ · Answer

I can see why E is correct but can someone explain why A is wrong ?

If fewer no of cars are being manufactured, people will have fewer options to buy cars, even in a good economy. So they will have to use old cars longer. Hence the average age of cars will increase.

hamm0 · Answer

Weird question.

The basic idea of the argument is that people will return to buying and driving newer cars once the economy improves.

In my understanding,  A  states that fewer cars are being manufactured inside the borders of Morigia - that is not directly related to Morigia's consumers purchases of those cars.

sanjoo · Answer

This is the conclusion.. the current poor economy has forced people to put off buying new cars, and thus when the economy improves, the average age of cars will return to former levels. we have to weaken this thing.. A-fewer cars per year are now being manufactured in MORIGIA?? wat if more cars are now being imported?? what if demand is low thats y car manufacturing has decreased?? second thing...how is it weakening the another part of conclusion..avg age of cars will return to former level?? E explain that.. E says..its not the economy that have increased or decreased age of cars..its the ppl own wish..so either economy in reccesion or expansion they r not gonna buy new cars ..so it directly hits the conclusion.. Hope it helps..if m wrong ..correct me

vivmechster · Answer

Conclusion: when the economy improves, the average age of cars will return to former levels. means people will start replacing their old cars with new ones.

Reason: poor economy.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously calls into question the car manufacturers' prediction?

Pre-think: People will not replace their car if new technology has enhanced the average life of the car (It was my thinking).

(A) Fewer cars per year are now being manufactured in Morigia than were being manufactured there five years ago. fewer cars are now being manufactured, means price will be high and this may continue even after economy will show upward trend. High price low selling.
 
(B) When the threat of job loss is particularly strong, people are reluctant to commit themselves to expensive purchases. - don't know whether car is an expensive purchase or not.
 
(C) The older a car is, the greater the amount of upkeep it requires. don't know whether greater upkeep is better deal than buying new car or not.

(D) The air-pollution control devices now being used in cars manufactured in Morigia cost less than those that were used seven years ago. - Out of scope.
 
(E) Most people in Morigia now believe that replacing an old car with a new one has very undesirable ecological consequences. - clearly alternate reason. so, correct choice.

bm8888mb · Answer

E has an extreme word "very". Is that ok?

Ishishani · Answer

Hello there
I want to know why option c is not correct. It said that the older a car is , the more upkeep it requires . It proves that the author's argument (abt people going through an economic instability ) does not hold .

Posted from my mobile device

ManifestDreamMBA · Answer

If they are spending more on the old car's maintenance, then they would want to switch.

Srid · Answer

Where did ecology came from? I think there will be a link between economy and threat of job loss . So i thought B will be answer.. any thoughtss anyone?can anyone correct me if i am wrong

A_Nishith · Answer

(A) Fewer cars per year are now being manufactured in Morigia than were being manufactured there five years ago.
--cars need not be manufactured in Morigia
(B) When the threat of job loss is particularly strong, people are reluctant to commit themselves to expensive purchases.
--Irrelevent
(C) The older a car is, the greater the amount of upkeep it requires.
--Irrelevent
(D) The air-pollution control devices now being used in cars manufactured in Morigia cost less than those that were used seven years ago.
--Irrelevent
(E) Most people in Morigia now believe that replacing an old car with a new one has very undesirable ecological consequences
--Even if the economy improves people will not buy new cars

Answer: E

In Morigia the average age of cars that are still in use has historica

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In Morigia the average age of cars that are still in use has historica

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

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