SUV sales stir as gas prices sink

[Regis Philbin]

<------ Recently filled up for $1.73/gallon.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/chi-mon-burns-auto-sales-nov24,0,1155954.column

SUV sales stir as gas prices sink

But consumer tastes are changing

Greg Burns
November 24, 2008

All those folks who unloaded their sport-utility vehicles when gasoline shot past $4 a gallon this summer might be developing a case of seller's remorse.

Americans love their wheels. The bigger the better, if the past is any guide. The ideals of personal freedom and mobility embodied in the automobile haven't changed in the least.

So, no surprise, with gas prices down around $2 again, the much-maligned SUV is making something of a comeback.

Car sales on the whole remain a bust, and this comeback barely lives up to the name, considering the bleak conditions overall. Yet the General Motors assembly plant making Yukons, Tahoes and Escalades has put its workers on overtime. And dealers from Texas to Montana report that the big vehicles clogging up their lots for months like so much radioactive waste have started moving again, albeit at slashed prices.

Enterprise Rent-a-Car has 1.1 million cars in its fleet, and when gas stood at $4, it could barely rent a minivan, pickup or SUV.

That's not the case at $2, reports spokesman Pat Farrell: "Now that it's come back down, people are more than willing to upgrade to bigger cars."

[pinky]

Some people will never learn. :greyno:

[Murrican]

SUVs are great, especially in bad weather (noticed any global warming lately?), when you have lots of bodies or stuff you need to keep safe, dry and moving smoothly between A and B.

Driving them daily to and fro work in good weather is a valid issue for both the driver and others (given the cost), but far more than 70% of Americans (and 98% of Canadians) live in areas with wacky winter weather (think of the 40+ states which host I-40 or are located north of it and hence have regular winter cold slippery weather), so they make a lot of sense. Especially in the 21 mountain states -- drive though mountains once in the winter and you'll wish you had 4-wheel-drive.

The technological challenge for manufacturers is to make SUVs fuel-efficient -- which is why GM makes large SUV hybrids that have incredible fuel mileage (but which nobody mentions when it comes to technical challenges that have been overcome)...

Did you know?

Press Release:

Automotive Engineering International Names General Motors' SUV Hybrids Best Engineered Vehicles of 2008

WARRENDALE, Pa., April 11 -- Readers and editors of SAE International's Automotive Engineering International (AEI) magazine crown General Motors' Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid and GMC Yukon Hybrid as 2008's Best Engineered Vehicles.

"General Motors has significantly re-engineered its class-leading full-size sport utility vehicles - the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon - with the first application of groundbreaking hybrid technology," Kevin Jost, Editorial Director of Automotive Engineering International, said. "The vehicles' advanced technology enables consumers looking for an efficient SUV a choice that does not involve sacrificing a cargo-hauling and trailer-towing capacity in return for improved fuel economy."

The Tahoe and Yukon Hybrids boast improved fuel economy compared to their gasoline-only counterparts. This is due to a state-of-the-art two-mode hybrid system developed in partnership with BMW and DaimlerChrysler.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ratings for the two-wheel drive models are 21 miles per gallon (mpg) for city driving and 22 mpg for highway driving. The four-wheel drive models achieve an EPA rating of 20 mpg city/highway.

The vehicles still deliver full-size SUV performance, with a 6,200-pound towing capacity for the two-wheel drive models, and a 12,000-pound Gross Combination Weight Rating for the four-wheel drive models. Both seat eight passengers.

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/04/12/gms-hybrid-suv-duo-win-best-engineered-vehicle-from-sae/

[Whoda Thunk?]

I will have no sympathy for anyone buying a standard SUV when gas prices go back up. I have no doubt that they will.

[db44]

Actually, my hybrid in bad weather was just as good as any SUV or pickup truck I've driven in bad weather. The batteries in the Prius makes it a heavy car, and I drove actually with more confidence in the lousy weather than many of the SUVs I'd pass, when I lived in states that actually had winter.

The sad thing to me is even still people don't want to take responsibility of things. So what, when the next oil sympathetic president comes to office and people are still driving uneconomical cars, they still will blame everyone but themselves?

[DoubleEdgeSword]

I have a little SUV, all wheel drive, gets 27 mph highway, and will get through any bad weather.

[db44]

'Cause those blizzards of Florida are horrid. :p

[DoubleEdgeSword]

Ever driven in a hurricane? Then, shut up. :p And we got an inch of snow.... in 1989.

[pinky]

An inch of snow in Philadelphia makes everyone run out to the supermarket and stock up.

Not on milk, eggs, bread, and other perishables, mind you, but on about a month's supply of canned goods. :rolleyes:

[db44]

I've walked through a couple of hurricanes. Not at their peak though. Still enough things were swaying like they shouldn't have been.

[DoubleEdgeSword]

I got my AWD for the sugar sand. Once you get stuck in sugar sand in Florida, you'll understand. lol FedEx won't even drive onto my land because of it. They leave stuff out by the road.

[WannaBreatheYou]

I lived in Salt Lake city during one of the worst winters they've had in 30 years. My front wheel drive car was perfect for it. The 4 wheel drive vehicles were the ones that wound up skidding off the road and causing accidents because people think they have 4 wheel drive and are invincible. Look at me, tough man in my Tahoe! I can do anything!

Or not.

It gives you more traction, yes, but it doesn't make you stop any faster and it doesn't mean you don't have to take ordinary caution while driving on icy, snowy streets. Anywhere.
SUVs are great, especially in bad weather (noticed any global warming lately?), when you have lots of bodies or stuff you need to keep safe, dry and moving smoothly between A and B.

Driving them daily to and fro work in good weather is a valid issue for both the driver and others (given the cost), but far more than 70% of Americans (and 98% of Canadians) live in areas with wacky winter weather (think of the 40+ states which host I-40 or are located north of it and hence have regular winter cold slippery weather), so they make a lot of sense. Especially in the 21 mountain states -- drive though mountains once in the winter and you'll wish you had 4-wheel-drive.

The technological challenge for manufacturers is to make SUVs fuel-efficient -- which is why GM makes large SUV hybrids that have incredible fuel mileage (but which nobody mentions when it comes to technical challenges that have been overcome)...

Did you know?



http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/04/12/gms-hybrid-suv-duo-win-best-engineered-vehicle-from-sae/