Common Sense Breaks Out: Car Buyers Dump Their SUVs for the Smallest Cars

With gas prices painfully high, buyers are replacing their SUVs with vehicles more like the one in the photo (probably not as fast as that one—probably. Was there a Prius in this race? Any golf carts?). The Daily Advertiser reports from Louisiana:

The smallest cars are making the biggest splash in a depressed U.S. auto market so far this year, with buyers flocking towards better fuel economy and lower sticker prices….

“We’re seeing many more people coming in with the fullsize SUV and pickups trying to trade out, and the problem is it’s almost like it’s flooding the used car market,” said Pat Tuminello, sales manager of Moss Motors Honda, whose Honda Fit hatchback showed the second largest growth in March sales.

“Customers are thinking of total ownership of car, factoring in total fuel costs with the monthly payment and insurance they’d pay.”

According to Cars.com, small cars like the Kia Spectra—up 41 percent—and Toyota Yaris—up 83 percent—had big gains last month, with similar growth for other automakers compact cars. Hybrid sales also grew.

In contrast, trucks like Ford F-Series and Dodge Ram were down 24 percent and 31 percent, respectively, as were most large SUVs.

A woman around the corner from me has a jet-black Hummer. She has a habit, probably unconscious, of creeping up on your back bumper while driving and chatting on the cell phone. When she does that, the Hummer looks, in the rearview mirror, like a skyscraper. It blocks out the sun. It must cost thousands and thousands of dollars a year in fuel. Maybe it will go away now.

Link [The Daily Advertiser]

Photo: Wikipedia commons

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