Americans will spend an average of $320,000 during the course of their driving lifetimes on owning and operating motor vehicles, a 28 percent increase since 2003, according to the American Institute for Economic Research.

The more than 25 percent increase in costs since 2003 is being driven by four factors, said AIER President Charles Murray: depreciation, insurance, taxes, oil and gas.

"The real driving factor behind the overall increase is the rise in gas and oil costs, which soared from $53,250 in 2003 to $105,075 in late 2007."

Read the full article