American consumers are buying pickups and large SUVs again

Why do I get the feeling that "post-election" gasoline is going to go up in a big, big way?

Get your cheap pre-election gas today!

... Brad

 

I remember from "Who Killed The Electric Car?" that the government gave much bigger tax rebates for Hummers than Prii if the Hummers were "for commercial use".

I have nothing wrong with people buying Tahoes for hauling brick or towing a wagon full of lawn mowers, but I think people stretch the "commercial use" to do things like hotels did: buy a Hummer, slap a company logo on the side and use it as a taxi.

These kind of incentives irk me a bit.

 

I don't think that is happening everywhere. A lot of folks are justifiably worried about keeping their job, burdened with a huge mortgage they are upside down on. Credit is very tight

 

I'd noticed that more Hummers seemed to have come out of the woodwork in the last couple of weeks....

 

Well these low prices are here to stay you know.

 

Not really surprising. They probably don't cost very much right now so people are getting a "deal" on something that they don't need. They'll probably regret it later. Cheap petrol will only last as long as this recession.

 

If I wasn't living in the City of Chicago, parking ticket capital of the industrialized world, I would buy an SUV, for the heavy snow periods only during the next 5 months. The gas guzzling autos aren't the problem, its driving them during non-extreme times (if that makes sense).
Love my Prius during the other 320 days per year.

 

FWIW in my experience in Maine a small AWD car like a Subaru is far safer in most winter conditions than any truck or SUV. An FWD car with snow tires is probably on par if not still better. I'm always somewhat amazed by photos like the one below. I think a big part of the problems is the extra mass of those big vehicles really makes them a bear to keep under control. Once you loose control you are much more likely to end up on your side or roof and consequently much more likely to be injured. The only time a truck or SUV is really superior is when you need a lot of ground clearance and/or articulation.



Rob

 

Finally, maybe now I can sell the Land Rover thats been sitting in my back yard

 

That looks like the time I drove from Winnipeg, MB to Alexandria, MN, in the middle of the night, in an ice storm (driving a Dodge Spirit; all season radials).

I was fine. Some of the trucks, vans, and jeeps in the median strip were not.

 

crude is down to $60 a barrel as of today.

shame people have such short memories, it's hard to say if gasoline will be back up above 4 bucks..but I am willing to bet it will be.

I mean we have had cheap gas for to long. Look at the rest of the world.

 

Rob

That scene was also just west of Winnipeg this morning. Where I live, we barely had snow come down, but the magic line was around the west perimeter. Freezing rain and snow, and blizzard conditions west of Brandon

A big problem with pickup and SUV drivers is that they have 4wd, so they can usually get moving from a dead stop. Great. But once up to speed, they can't turn or brake, and tend to spin out, hit the divider or median, then roll a few times

My FJ Cruiser I run studless winter tires in winter conditions, but only in 2WD. Anybody who runs 4WD on the highway is a fool, it's too easy to get overconfident and you'll push the vehicle past its limit. I've also ordered studded Hankook suv tires for my FJ, my Prius with studded tires still has better traction on icy roads

Best accident I witnessed was several years ago. I was eastbound on Fermor just coming over the crest of the Symington Yards overpass. Wintertime but dry and windy conditions. If the wind happens to be from the SW, it tends to blow snow across the bottom of the overpass and turn it into a sheet of ice

I was going around 100 km/h, and happened to notice a semi at the bottom of the curve slide a bit. So I backed off to about 80 km/h and this jackass in a Dodge Ram started tailgating me. I was in the right lane and assumed he was going to exit off to Plessis, but he didn't. He was just being a dick and tailgating me.

Once we hit the icy spot on the curve, my Prius with studded tires tracked like on rails. His Ram slid across, hit the divider pretty hard, spun around a few times, each time hitting the divider again, and missed my rear quarter by a coat of wax

I accelerated back up to 100, set the cruise, and thought BWAAA HAAAAA HAAAA HAAAAA!

jay

 

Ah, now you know what I have to deal with every winter

 

This crippling global recession may last 5 years, who knows. With all those folks losing their jobs, companies scaling back operations, fuel will probably remain relatively "cheap" for at least another 2-3 years

So if you're one of the lucky/smart ones who has zero debt, substantial savings, and a job that is virtually recession-proof, you will do quite well during this time.

It doesn't help the average schmuck to have gas under $2 a gallon if he had his house repossesed, his vehicle respossesed, and is living in a tent somewhere.

But you're right, once things turn around everybody will get back on the Gravy Train ride, forget about facts like importing almost 2/3 of our oil, and complain that we couldn't foresee what happened

jay

 

Yes... after all, I spent 25 years in Minnesota, living in rural areas, and driving as necessary, regardless of the weather.

I also know when NOT to drive... a skill that, sadly, some people don't have