SUV Sales Slump
Earnings reports from car makers seemed to suggest SUV sales were down last spring, and with gas prices near $3 per gallon in some parts of the country still, nobody should be surprised that Yahoo! is saying interest in SUVs is down — way down — now:
If the Buzz is any indication, then yes. Searches on “hybrids” outrank “SUVs” by a tremendous margin, and it’s the same story with individual models. By far the most popular hybrid is the Prius (not to be confused with “pious,” which is how many owners feel, and can lead to blathering about saving the planet). Interest in Toyota’s gas-miser is more than double that of Search’s most popular SUV, the Hummer H3. Also, the Prius garners nearly 10 times the searches as Toyota’s SUV, the 4Runner. Indeed, it appears the bell is tolling for the 15 mpg club.
Options: SMART and Japanoid K-Cars.
tags: 4runner, buzz, car makers, declining suv sales, earnings reports, gas prices, hummer, hummer h3, hybrid, hybrid car, hybrid cars, hybrids, japanoid k-car, japanoid k-cars, prius, SMART, smart car, suv sales, suv sales decline, suvs, toyota, yahoo buzz, yahoo buzz index
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[...] People looking for oversized pickups, ridiculously large Russian Army trucks, even jet powered speedsters have it easy. But what about people who have some understanding of the Hubbert peak and don’t want SUVs? 50+ MPG cars have been available in Japan for 30 years now, and can be bought used in Canada for under$5000. But US law forbids importing them to the US! Heck, the Smart, the super-efficient line from DaimlerChrysler, has been available in Europe (and now Canada) for about ten years now, but it too can only be imported with a lot of restrictions. Don’t talk to me about Priuses, either. They’re selling on ebay for almost $30,000. [...]
The whole industry prices for SUVs and trucks has declined nearly 25 percent, which is approximately four times the normal depreciation expected over this period and well in excess of the depreciation expected over a full year.”
Last week was a busy week for the dealership because of the deals the stores have going on – 0 percent interest for 72 months vs. the typical 6.9 percent interest. These deals are just to get rid of SUVs.
BUT hybrids are in high demand and that is good for the new direction we need to take in respect to fuel efficiency