Gas prices won't slow sales for SUVs, vans

[Bozita]

Front page above the fold, headline article.

http://www.freep.com/money/business/sales26_20040526.htm

Gas prices won't slow sales for SUVs, vans


Analysts expect U.S. light-truck gains for May

May 26, 2004


BY SARAH A. WEBSTER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER


Gas prices might be high and rising fast, but they aren't painful enough to push people out of their beloved pickups, SUVs and vans.

Despite the fact that rising gas prices are aggravating consumers -- causing some people to reconsider the vehicles they drive -- experts who have analyzed automotive buying trends for decades are predicting that sales of light trucks will continue rising this month.

Research firm J.D. Power and Associates is projecting that May sales will be 11 percent higher than they were during the same month a year ago for pickups, 2 percent for SUVs, and 7 percent for vans. That's with the help of massive incentives, of course.

Compact and midsize cars, despite being the most fuel-efficient, are expected to be up 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Full-sized cars, meanwhile, are projected to be down 5 percent.

"We're expecting all truck sales to be up," said Walter McManus, J.D. Power's executive director of automotive forecasting.

more...

[w4rma]

1. ... oil companies hope. (nt)

[HuckleB]

2. Absolutely brilliant!

"Gas prices are horrible! I think I'll buy a gas guzzler and help push them up even more! That way I've got something to complain about with my pals while we wait in line to fill up!"

"Cool!"

[phantom power]

3. well, sure. Since they're giving 'em away.

And by the way, this contradicts reports that SUV sales are down from last year.

[kysrsoze]

29. Yeah, that's a load of crap. It's already happening. I'm one of them.

I changed my mind and bought a sedan instead of an SUV - figured I could always rent one if I needed it that bad.

BTW - I was only considering a Pathfinder, not a Hummer or something stupid like that, but gas prices were still compelling enough to influence my decision.

[TahitiNut]

4. That's an obligatory spin for a Detroit newspaper.

Since moving back here from the San Francisco Bay Area, I'm constantly appalled at the enormous number of gas hogs on the roads ... the vast majority driven by solo drivers, many with cellphones to their ears in stop-and-go traffic. The gene pool around here could use a LOT of chlorine. I can't imagine the average mpg is much above about 10-12 on an average weekday. I'm almost afraid to drink the tapwater ... it must have huge doses of stupid in it.

[4dsc]

5. Bring back the Honda CRX

Very fast car that got incredibly gas mileage.. Mine got about 40+ all the time..

[tridim]

9. No joke, bring it back

I sold my 91 CRX about 5 years ago and it remains my biggest car mistake to date. I should have never sold it, because it was perfect. All the 91 CRX's I see in the paper are selling for much more than I sold mine for 5 years ago.

[AndyTiedye]

24. I Hope my Honda Civic Del Sol Runs Forever

Nice little 2-seater which is fun to drive, but really frugal too.

Has the open ride of a convertable without the maintenance headaches of a ragtop, and a nice big trunk to put the roof in.

10 years old and still gets almost 40 miles per gallon even though a lot of my driving is in the mountains.

I don't know why Honda stopped making them.

[tridim]

33. Didn't the Del Sol have a leaky roof problem?

I read that somewhere when I was considering buying one.

[Hornito]

6. Please note, that not ALL vans are gas hogs. My Pontiac

Trans Sport gets 25/28mpg, with its very efficent V6 engine. Not bad, considering the space and comfort of the vehicle. As I am disabled, and need to drive a van, I'm glad I was able to find an American-made vehicle that bests most import vans on mpg.

[Dulcinea]

26. I second that!

My Chrysler Town & Country gets about the same gas mileage.

[Stuckinthebush]

7. Our van gets better gas mileage than my Camry

Go figure.

My neighbors SUV, however, guzzles it (according to him).

[shanti]

22. what kind of van do you have?

i just bought a 2005 dodge caravan, 4 cylinder, and it gets 21 mpg.

[Stuckinthebush]

27. 2003 Toyota Sienna

My Camry is a 1996 model - which doesn't help the gas MPG. Last time we checked, we were getting around 24 mpg.

[shanti]

32. ah, i wanted a sienna

but yow, the sticker shock! i got a super deal for mine at 15,999 for a 2005 caravan at carmax (BIG PLUG FOR CARMAX - THEY ARE TERRIFIC!). a sienna would've been at least 10,000 more. toyotas are great tho, i have a 94 tercel that's been a real trooper. it still runs fine, but my teen son will be driving it soon, so i needed another vehicle.

[utopian]

8. I've seen articles saying the opposite

That sales of gas guzzlers has slowed. Why would they pick back up if gas prices stay this high? People are going to demand--are demanding--fuel efficient and alternative fuel vehicles. SUV sales will no doubt go up when their fuel efficiency goes up too.

[LynzM]

11. So have I

I don't buy it, that it's having no effect. I've seen lots of stories from dealerships that have waiting-lists for hybrids, and have seen sales of SUVs and big trucks go down. That's good, in my book.

[AP]

10. You can pay for gas with a credit card.

I wonder if that's why.

People don't mind loading up on the unsecured debt right now.

[gasperc]

12. that's why all the ads here in Detroit EMPHASIZE gas milage

all the small car and mid-size ads are boasting about gas mileage, they are taking a hit and the dealers are getting desperate to move vehicles!!

[yellowcanine]

13. B.S. Sales of the bigger SUVs have already slowed in favor of the

smaller, more car-like ones. Since these are still classified as trucks, this change will not show up if one is just looking at overall truck numbers. Besides, it is too early to know if the "tipping point" of the cost of gas has been reached. There is a huge lag time - suppose someone bought a large SUV a year ago when gas prices were relatively low. They are not going to trade it in as soon as gas hits $2 a gallon - they would lose too much in depreciation. But people may replace a large SUV with a smaller one if they were making the switch anyway once gas hits and stays above $2. We won't know for several months.

[phantom power]

15. permanency will be a big determiner

Right now, most people seem to be operating on the assumption that gas prices will go back down again. If it becomes clear that gasoline is going to permanently stabilize at higher than $2/gallon, I think there will be a corresponding permanent change in car-buying habits. Car manufactureres will have to provide SUVs that get much better gas mileage, or SUVs will go the way of the old 4000lb luxury sedans of the 70s.

[AndyTiedye]

25. Maybe Light Truck increase at the expense of Heavy Trucks

an F150 burns a lot of gas, but not compared to an F350.

[BiggJawn]

14. So why is my local Ford Dealer trying to unload F-150's...

...for less than 12 kilobucks?

$11,990. that's less than I paid for a RANGER 2 years ago, even WITH the legendary "A-Plan"...

I also read that Hummers are sitting on the lot in excess of 100 days, which makes car dealers really nervous, and Hummer is offering rebates, and....

JD Powers jumps the shark, eh?

[phantom power]

16. wow, that's less than I paid for my Saturn sl2 in 1996

And that was used even then.

[bmbmd]

17. Fully loaded automatic leather

2004 Tahoe $24900 in Denison Tx today. That vehicle would have been thirty two thousand a year ago.

[yellowcanine]

18. Anyone know who pays for the research done by J.D. Powers? Why do I think

their clients are the large SUV producers? I am getting so dang cynical in my old age!

[HuckleB]

19. Perhaps.

But J.D. Powers is quite reputable, in my experience. They would actually lose a great deal of prestige, if their statistics started to show as phony PR for GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler.

[hatrack]

20. Tweet tweet tweet - what's that sound?

Why, it's Detroit, whistling past the graveyard.

[TheFarseer]

21. Why is Detroit forever behind the curve?

That's their darn problem, not paying American auto workers a decent salary. If they made a hybrid vehicle I'm sure it would be selling like crazy like the Prius etc, but instead they have to offer massive incentives to buy an SUV.

edited for spelling

[salin]

23. Last gas hike (national) in about 1998

peaked for the rest of the country but remained in place, with gas over $2.00 a gallon in the Bay Area for a long number of more months. Until the two senators threatened oil companies with antitrust (price fixing) investigations... and suddenly the supply just increased and prices decreased. While the Bay Area was held hostage, it seems that LA was having gas price wars (at about .99 a gallon) - so the northern part of the state subsidized the gas wars in the other part of the state (bigger companies undercut prices to drive independents out of the market). However - even with prolonged higher prices (not unlike todays) the demand for SUVs and larger gas guzzlers remained steady.

[sendero]

28. This is pure spin...

... there is already consumer response to gas prices and if you pay attention you will see it.

Big SUVs are getting huge "cash-back" incentives that were not common until now.

As usual, Detroit's pants will be caught firmly around their ankles with nothing to compete with the new Japanese hybrid technology.

You could almost feel sorry for them, they are that pathetic.

[narcjen]

30. Start putting hybird engines in them

Toyota is coming out with a hybrid model of its mid-size Highlander SUV.

[Massacure]

31. But that gives people a reason to drive SUVs

Put them in the cars first. Then SUVs will always be 20-30 mpg less than the cars. But first the have to catch up after being 50 mpg behind.