weaken question!!!

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weaken question!!!

by Ozlemg » Wed Jun 29, 2011 5:38 am
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.
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by Frankenstein » Wed Jun 29, 2011 6:12 am
Hi,
Car manufacturer says economy is the real cause for not buying new cars. E states an alternate cause for not buying new cars. So, E in fact is weakening.

Hence, E
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by amit2k9 » Fri Jul 01, 2011 12:26 am
Ozlemg wrote: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. -- economy improves -- more cars manufactured ---people buying news cars. POE.
B. When the threat of job loss is particularly strong, people are reluctant to commit themselves to expensive purchases. -- Supports. POE.
C. The older a car is, the greater the amount of upkeep it requires. -- Supports. POE.
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. POE.
E. Most people in Morigia now believe that replacing an old car with a new one has very undesirable ecological consequences. -- Means even if economy improves people may not purchase new cars. Hence average age might remain the same. OA.
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by deepsok » Fri Jul 01, 2011 7:51 am
Answer choice [spoiler]"E"[/spoiler] is correct.
"Most" is the word that is important here.
We need to be carfule about word "Many" "some" because we dont have idea about their exact number.
But "most" means more that 50% i.e. majority.

In this answerchoice,if Majority of people thinks that buying new car is not good option then we cant say that improved economy=better car sales.

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by sl750 » Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:54 am
Answer choice E weakens the argument the manufactures' prediction that once the economy recovers
people will continue replacing their vehicles every 7 years by stating that if the replacement
results in undesirable ecological consequences they are less likely to replace their vehicle. This
answer choice provides an alternative explanation

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by VivianKerr » Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:49 am
Conclusion: Bad economy = not buying new cars, improved economy = average car age will return to 7

Evidence: Average age of cars was 7, but now is 9

Assumption: There is not another reason people have their cars longer (i.e. are the newer cars just better made?); strong link between economy strength & length of time people keep their vehicles

Question: What will WEAKEN the conclusion? (reverse the Assumption)

Prediction: There IS another reason people have their cars longer; there is a WEAK link between economy strength + length of time of vehicle ownership

We can quickly narrow it down to C and E.

C - This is a good option, but not quite strong or specific enough. It is true in general that older cars require more upkeep. This is true for any vehicle. So there must be a better choice that will more seriously weaken the argument.

E - This weakens the argument a LOT because it provides another reason outside of the economy for people not replacing their vehicles.
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