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SUVs dead?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by burritos, Dec 21, 2007.

  1. burritos

    burritos Senior Member

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    #1 burritos, Dec 21, 2007
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I do not know but Volvo replied later that there is an XC90 successor after the news about it killing off went online.


    Also, BMW is offering a new X6 on sale next year that sorta looks like an X5 mixed with a Hummer soft top - i.e. it has a slanted rear window from the rear doors to the back of the car (which effectively cuts the already small cargo capacity by 1/3) and it's also a 4 seater, not a 5 seater.



    But SUVs like the Wrangler, FJ, Hummer H1, and I suppose *some* Discoverys and the Defender 100 of course ... those that are used for off-roading will live on. They're simple to build, repair and are robust.
     
    #2 Tideland Prius, Dec 21, 2007
  3. BigFoot

    BigFoot Dissident

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    As long as people keep buying them, carmakers will keep building them. We will probably see a lot more Hybrid SUV's coming down the line, but I don't see them killing it just yet. It's a cash cow.:)
     
    #3 BigFoot, Dec 22, 2007
  4. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    I guess the author has never really looked at US vehicles sales. Although sales of many SUVs are down YTD, still lots of people buy them (even though I suspect they don't "need" them).

    Take a look at GM's and Ford's November 07 US sales for example...
    http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/IROL/84/84530/sales_production/Nov2007Deliveries.pdf
    http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2007/12/03/072308.html

    For some perspective, here were the top 20 selling vehicles in the US thru November 07 http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAN0364405520071203?rpc=44.
     
    #4 cwerdna, Dec 23, 2007
  5. FL_Prius_Driver

    FL_Prius_Driver Senior Member

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    The big auto corporations trust what the bean counters say first and formost, then take what the marketing types say next. (There are virtually no engineers or environmental oriented senior officers at these levels.) The resulting stategies match what we see:

    1) Making hybrid SUVs is a natural thing to do. It allows the cash cow to be milked....and claim that the cow is green...with no profit loss since paying very high prices for SUV is expected.

    2) Make "hybrid" cars with an absolute minimum change to the existing body styles and power trains (hint: BAS). Great stopgap measure while they wait out the market to see if gas prices stabilize, or people tolerate somewhat higher gas prices, or the hybrid surge fizzes out.

    3) Initiate the "Green" marketing campaign.

    Meanwhile an electric car picking up where the EV1/RAV4EV left off is needed to allow the next lesson to be learned.

    One thing that does get old is all the blame being placed on the corporations. They alway follow the money. Period. It's everyone that has been buying Prius's for the last 8 years that is making the difference, not any corporation.
     
    #5 FL_Prius_Driver, Dec 23, 2007
  6. markderail

    markderail I do 45 mins @ 3200 PSI

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    SUV's are the best platform for making a diesel-electric platform.
     
    #6 markderail, Dec 24, 2007
  7. WARHORSE

    WARHORSE New Member

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    Thats Not what your girlfriend said last night :p
     
    #7 WARHORSE, Dec 24, 2007
  8. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

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    toyota must have missed the memo about SUV's being dead or even being made smaller.

    Toyota Announces Pricing for All-New 2008 Sequoia
     
    #8 malorn, Dec 27, 2007
  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    hey welcome back malorn!

    Toyota also released the new LC and LX570.
     
    #9 Tideland Prius, Dec 27, 2007
  10. malorn

    malorn Senior Member

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    thank you, its good to be back!
     
    #10 malorn, Dec 27, 2007
  11. hycamguy07

    hycamguy07 New Member

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    Malorn~

    WB, also any word on the HyMalibu's?
     
    #11 hycamguy07, Dec 28, 2007
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