Guest post from Amy:
At what point does the price of gasoline affect the purchase of a vehicle? For me, I took notice when gas hit $2/gallon. At that time, I expected that sales of gas guzzlers would slow down. I was wrong. SUV sales stayed strong. Many people bought them without looking at the fuel efficiency, so much so that SUVs outsold regular cars. The question in my mind was, at what price do gas prices affect car purchasing. The answer seems to be about $3.50/gallon.
Today, the AP reports that:
Dealers see SUV glut as drivers trade in gas guzzlers
My question is, what took so long? In the past two years, our extended family has bought four new cars. All four have been hybrids. We have seen friends go from SUVs to hybrids as well. The choice to purchase a hybrid was mostly because of increasing fuel costs, not environmental impact (although both were factors for us.)
High gas prices are not new. They have been creeping steadily higher for a decade. The reduced value for SUV trade-ins should not be a surprise to anyone. With increased fuel costs comes decreased demand for gas hungry vehicles. Maybe the US automakers will take notes, and start creating fuel efficient vehicles that we really need.
All I can say is “It’s about time.”
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