Goodbye SUV, hello small cars: Surge in gas prices leads to scaling down of the vehicles Americans

[cwerdna]

Americans are switching to smaller cars from SUVs - Apr. 25, 2008

Goodbye SUV, hello small cars

Surge in gas prices leads to scaling down of the vehicles Americans drive.

Last Updated: April 27, 2008: 10:07 AM EDT
DETROIT (AP) -- Scott Piechocinski roamed the rows of a CarMax dealership in Charlotte, N.C., on a recent afternoon, searching for something small to replace his son's 2001 Nissan Pathfinder sport/utility vehicle.
He's not alone: As gas prices marched higher and now top $3.50 per gallon across the nation, car buyers across the country increasingly are abandoning SUVs and pickups in favor of smaller crossovers and cars.
"Fuel is money," Piechocinski said. "You have to be realistic."
The trend also is showing up globally and could rival the industry upheaval that followed the last big oil price shock in 1980. That earthquake caught Detroit automakers lacking in the fuel-efficient models buyers were demanding and set the stage for the rise of Asian competitors such as Toyota Motor Co. (TM) and Honda Motor Co. (HMC)
General Motors Corp., (GM, Fortune 500) Ford Motor Co. (F, Fortune 500) and Chrysler LLC rebounded in the 1990s when fuel was relatively cheap and they piled up big profits selling SUVs and pickups. But now history is repeating itself - with a vengeance.

[Godiva]

Unless there's a summer gas tax holiday, in which case sales of SUVs will soar this summer.

[TonyPSchaefer]

Nerfer has a spreadsheet where he tracks the average gasoline price (in Chicago) as well as monthly hybrid sales. As you can imagine, when the price of gas goes up, the hybrid sales go up in near-perfect harmony. Likewise, when the price of gas drops, Godiva is proven correct.

[qbee42]

American consumers have very short memories.

Tom

[Austin50mpg]

I remember not being able to count to 5 without seeing a full size SUV on the interstate I drive daily. Now I see maybe one or two total on the 1 hr + daily drive. A lot more sedans and coupes out there. I was blessed in that the lease on my mid size SUV (Pathfinder) expired last month and I was able to get a Prius without much wait.

[tripp]

Originally Posted by Godiva

Unless there's a summer gas tax holiday, in which case sales of SUVs will soar this summer.

That'll do nowt. The fed tax is what $0.184/gal? They'd have to pay a rebate beyond that encourage fuel use.