tough GMAT prep CR -- why not C?

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tough GMAT prep CR -- why not C?

by san2009 » Thu Jul 15, 2010 3:31 am
Below is the Q. I understand how E is the answer. But I'm not so sure, why C cannot be the answer?

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. [/color]
(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
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by selango » Thu Jul 15, 2010 4:16 am
Average age of car still in use increased to 9 years.

Manufacture prediction-->Economy forced people to put off buying new cars.

To weaken this argument,we need to find the alternative.

Option E provides the alternative reason.

Option C contradicts the argument.If the old car needs more maintenance than new car,then people will buy new car and average age would be decreased.
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by kmittal82 » Thu Jul 15, 2010 4:20 am
I think the reason (c) is incorrect is that the paragraph doesn't give a relationship between the cost of buying a new car and the cost of the upkeep.

E.g., it could be possible that as the car gets older, the cost of maintenance increases so much that its more economical to actually buy a new car, hence this statement actually supports the claim

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by selango » Thu Jul 15, 2010 4:25 am
Yes if the question asks why people shift to new cars,this option provides additional support.

Another reason the question asks to weaken only manufacturer prediction.So option C will be out of scope.
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by san2009 » Thu Jul 15, 2010 4:58 am
Ok.

But isn't C saying that: since old cars require higher upkeep, then the owners of old cars will be compelled to sell them and buy new cars .... especially in a tough economy to save $? If so, then that weakens the manufacturer's prediction by suggesting that the tough economy is in fact a reason for the owners of used cars to buy new cars.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

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by kmittal82 » Thu Jul 15, 2010 5:24 am
san2009 wrote:Ok.

But isn't C saying that: since old cars require higher upkeep, then the owners of old cars will be compelled to sell them and buy new cars .... especially in a tough economy to save $? If so, then that weakens the manufacturer's prediction by suggesting that the tough economy is in fact a reason for the owners of used cars to buy new cars.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
The question never mentions that owners will actually sell their old cars, all it says is that the cost of maintenance is high.. they might as well consider scrapping it. Also, the question doesn't deal with the second hand car market at all. I think you are assuming that the people will sell these old cars, whereas this assumption goes out of the scope of the question.

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by san2009 » Thu Jul 15, 2010 7:56 am
nope. not saying that Kmittal.
What I am saying is:
if the upkeep or maintenance of older cars is higher than the user has the incentive to scrap/trash/sell whatever the older car and get a new car -- especially in an economy where he is trying to save $. i guess the problem with that is -- we are not given any info about the difference between replacement cost and maintenance cost. And E readily provides us with another cause that has the intended effect - thus weakening the prediction in the question stem.

Instructors, if possible, please share your thoughts.

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by analyst218 » Thu Jul 15, 2010 8:19 am
san2009 wrote:nope. not saying that Kmittal.
What I am saying is:
if the upkeep or maintenance of older cars is higher than the user has the incentive to scrap/trash/sell whatever the older car and get a new car -- especially in an economy where he is trying to save $. i guess the problem with that is -- we are not given any info about the difference between replacement cost and maintenance cost. And E readily provides us with another cause that has the intended effect - thus weakening the prediction in the question stem.

Instructors, if possible, please share your thoughts.
the prediction is that when the economy improves, people will buy new cars.
since you're supposed to find an answer that will contradict the prediction, the answer is E.
I think you ended up at C because you didn't identify what you were supposed to contradict.
what you are saying is old car being old, rather than improved economy would improve new car sales, and
doing so actually supports the prediction that people will buy new cars.
note that improved economy is a given condition in the passage.

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by selango » Thu Jul 15, 2010 8:32 am
San,

Manufacturer predicts that poor economy is the reason that forced people not to buy new cars.

We need to look for the alternate reason for this.

Coming to option C.You were saying the reason that people not buying new car is the maintanence and replacement cost are not stated.

If these costs is implicitly stated in option C like replacement cost is higher than maintenance cost,we can consider this as the alternate option to weaken the argument.But nothing is stated.

Option C simply state that maintenance cost is high.If we considered as true,then average age of old cars surely will not be increased and contradict the argument.Unless it stated don't assume anything.Always look for the better answer.

Hope this clarify..
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by hero » Thu Jul 15, 2010 9:32 am
correct. good explanation.

i think it should be further added that weaken questions aren't asking you to find the opposite answer and that only one answer will weaken the conclusion.

Therefore, 4 answers will either strengthen OR not weaken the argument.

only 1, correct, answer will weaken the arguement...and that answer, more than likely, will only undermine the conclusion, not destroy it. does that make sense?

in a weaken question, you accept the answers as "true", but do not make any more assumptions beyond what is stated. it seems you are making the flaw of coming to certain assumptions based on answer C, as opposed to just accepting the information as is and processing your decision.

answer c tells us the older the car is, the greater the amount of upkeep. but we don't really have a correlation. if a car costs $10 in year 6 to upkeep, and $20 in year 7 to upkeep, well then the amount of upkeep is increasing....but to the point where it exceeds the financial benefits of buying a new car? no. the numbers could also be way up there...maybe it costs $10,000 in upkeep in year 6, and $20,000 in upkeep for year 7. here it may be beneficial to buy a new car. But the point is these are assumptions....and not what is stated in the answer choice. In my opinion, answer choice C does not strengthen the conclusion, but it does not weaken it either. In fact, i believe it does nothing at all, and a neutral answer choice is incorrect in weaken choices because it does not do the only thing a correct answer will do: attack the conclusion.

this is what i'm getting out of the CR powerscore bible. hope it's helpful.
selango wrote:San,

Manufacturer predicts that poor economy is the reason that forced people not to buy new cars.

We need to look for the alternate reason for this.

Coming to option C.You were saying the reason that people not buying new car is the maintanence and replacement cost are not stated.

If these costs is implicitly stated in option C like replacement cost is higher than maintenance cost,we can consider this as the alternate option to weaken the argument.But nothing is stated.

Option C simply state that maintenance cost is high.If we considered as true,then average age of old cars surely will not be increased and contradict the argument.Unless it stated don't assume anything.Always look for the better answer.

Hope this clarify..

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by san2009 » Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:46 am
i concur. thanks hero!!
need to revisit bible

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by ayushiiitm » Thu Jul 15, 2010 2:10 pm
san2009 wrote:Below is the Q. I understand how E is the answer. But I'm not so sure, why C cannot be the answer?
Dear San,

It is disheartening to note that an experienced user like you has put the answer without spoiler and that too above the question.

A lot of users come to BTG to practise questions, and would appreciate that answers are revealed after the question.

Kindly edit the post.
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