# Makes & Models Of Cars On American Highways? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 12, 2017, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makes-models-of-cars-on-american-highways/801493 "2017-11-12T23:11:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makes-models-of-cars-on-american-highways/801493/21 "2017-11-14T00:30:05Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > You’ve named off more makes that I have never heard of than I might even know. What the hell is a Dort? Rhetorical Q. I confess, on that part I was just taking funny car names from the list I posted of old defunct manufacturers. Dort instantly became one of my favorite car names. ---
**Author:** ![48Willys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/db5fbb/32.png) [@48Willys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/48Willys)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makes-models-of-cars-on-american-highways/801493/22 "2017-11-14T20:05:00Z")
The OP said automobiles. We can not rule out either commercial vehicles, or motorcycles. In fact, we have to count them. Now what about electric powered bicycles? Do we count them? I see them on the shoulder of highways around here. They are automobiles by definition. I think that we need a definition of terms here. Automobile, today, highway? Someone ruled out Studebaker, Two of my neighbors use their Hawks as daily drivers. Last I knew, we lived in the USA. BTW, They do their own maintenance, so no local repair shop is going to count those cars. While the number the OP asked about is indeed finite, I do not believe that we can figure out that number. I am not sure that we can come up with a WAG, say nothing about as SWAG. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makes-models-of-cars-on-american-highways/801493/23 "2017-11-14T20:49:40Z")
Why do we have to count them? Automobile is [synonymous](https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/automobile) with “car,” not “road vehicle.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makes-models-of-cars-on-american-highways/801493/24 "2017-11-14T22:16:09Z")
Let’s limit this to gas or diesel vehicles. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makes-models-of-cars-on-american-highways/801493/25 "2017-11-14T22:22:43Z")
Here there is ‘Subaru’ and ‘Not a Subaru’. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makes-models-of-cars-on-american-highways/801493/26 "2017-11-15T03:55:34Z")
> [@48Willys](#): > > Someone ruled out Studebaker, Two of my neighbors use their Hawks as daily drivers. Last I knew, we lived in the USA. BTW, They do their own maintenance, so no local repair shop is going to count those cars. I think you misread that. I didn’t rule out Studebakers. I ruled out all antiques like the Studebaker for a somewhat related project I once worked on. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makes-models-of-cars-on-american-highways/801493/27 "2017-11-15T13:56:11Z")
Obviously this is a long-tail problem. Which means strictly speaking it’s unanswerable. We’ll always have some error bars based on what constitutes “driving”, “road”, and over what time interval? Plus of course what constitutes a “make” and a “model”. To a very crude first approximation there are two makes/models: Toyota Camry & Freightliner Class I tractor. Each time we add another lower-volume make/model or subdivide an existing make/model, we get closer to the elusive ineffable truth. But we’ll never get there until/unless we have total omniscient knowledge of everything going on within our shores. I have an idea: let’s ask NSA. They’re sure to know! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makes-models-of-cars-on-american-highways/801493/28 "2017-11-15T22:52:39Z")
Why limit to gas or diesel? I see dozens of all-elecric vehicles every day. I also see LNG and even propane powered vehicles, though these are modified production cars so maybe they don’t count. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/makes-models-of-cars-on-american-highways/801493.md?page=1)