High gasoline prices and other economic woes have driven car-buyers in the U.S. to purchase smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles lately. Last month, sales of compact and subcompact cars made up about 20 percent of total sales; in the mid 1990s, small cars accounted for only about one in eight cars sold in the country. Sales of vehicles with four-cylinder engines also outpaced sales of six-cylinder cars. "It's easily the most dramatic segment shift I have witnessed in the market in my 31 years here," said a Ford sales analyst. Meanwhile, sales of SUVs and trucks are seeing a sharp downward trend this year, with SUV sales plummeting 25 percent so far. Some market watchers are forecasting a continued shift away from big vehicles since gasoline prices are expected to remain high for a long while. "The era of the truck-based large SUVs is over," said the CEO of the biggest auto retailer in the U.S.
source: The New York Times
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Comments
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Alison Wiley Posted 3:43 am
02 May 2008
best,
Alison in Portland, Oregon
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Wolverine Posted 6:05 am
02 May 2008
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GonzoDon Posted 8:45 am
02 May 2008
Of course we're not gonna solve our oil-dependency problems by simply driving cars that go 30% farther on a gallon of gas. But that is a trend that's nice to see, and to encourage.
Let's build upon that trend by offering our motoring-happy public some real alternatives to driving anywhere and everywhere:
Enlightened zoning laws that encourage transit-friendly, mixed-use development, and discourage expensive and unsustainable sprawl
Better public transit alternatives, whether they be dedicated high-speed bus lanes, light rail, or some half-assed attempt at building a passenger-rail system that, um, actually works
Reduced subsidies for Big Oil and Big Airports, with a transfer of the savings to alternative energy development and the activities described above.
Kudos to all those who are downsizing their cars. It's a start.
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human power Posted 4:13 pm
02 May 2008
By the way, these current "high" gasoline prices are the same, in real dollars, as the prices of 1981, and look where that led.
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Pangolin Posted 5:13 pm
02 May 2008
Whatever car, truck or SUV you can afford to drive now I would guess you want to downsize two steps. If you are already driving a Prius or a Geo Metro think about a sturdy bike.
Gasoline is going to get seriously unaffordable and when that happens the big chunk of the economy that is focused on servicing car culture is going to collapse. That collapse in auto manufacturers, dealers, repairman, insurers, detailers and stereo salesman is going to take a bunch of other busineses with it.
At some point the whole mess will collapse as suddenly as the World Trade center. Each sector of the economy dependent on cheap gas cracking the one below that. We're going to play Jenga with the whole world economy.
Hopefully, I'm wrong.
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Delay And Deny Posted 2:41 am
03 May 2008
...the only reason for all of this is to pressure us to buy new cars...and sell the perfectly good old ones for a song.
Then, they can start letting us have cheap fuel again (whether it be e85, or hydrogen, or Brown's Gas (HHO)).
At which point, we can start buying bigger cars.
Again.
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dotcommodity Posted 6:05 am
04 May 2008
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bkrell Posted 3:25 am
28 May 2008
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