WHAT DO PP LOOK @ WHEN THE LIST THERE CARS FOR SALE ?!?!?!
IF THE VIN STICKER SAYS SEP 70 WY LIST IT FOR A 71 ???
SPECIALLY NOW WITH NEW CARS WHEN YOU CAN BUY A 2010 WHATEVER IN JUNE !!!
Because we have to. A car is what it is and doesn't matter when it was built. It's the Model Year the manufacturer tells the DMV it is and that's that. Most of the time anyway. There are exceptions, but are few and far between and are sometimes simply clerical errors.
Your DMV paperwork will most times tell you the model year and the date first sold, but not the day it was built. But each state is probably different with the amount of info on the registration. Your vin-decal will typically say the date built and the model year though, I think? At least they say "this vehicle conforms to all applicable standards for the xxxx model year" or something to that effect.
The date of change varies by a lot. Right now for instance the manufacturers are probably so desparate that they're ceasing manuf. of previous models and moving up production dates as far and as fast as they can. Other years it's just timing. Sometimes they'll run the same year production up until later in the year than normal even, but "most" of the time, September was considered about the time things were changing over.
Production and delivery times naturally being what they are, each manufacturer figures out how best to market their latest-and-greatest vehicles to the next potential buyer.
Basically it was all about marketing. But sometimes life throws you a curve and you jig when you wanted to jog.
That's just a basic rundown. I'm sure there are many, many variables that most of us are blissfully unaware of (especially me!) when it comes to the goings-on inside multi-billion dollar and international manufacturing companies.
Paul
