Car buying trends?

[Jack May]

I bought a new car this week to replace my old Porsche. I was surprised how
hard it was to get what I wanted because the demand for high MPG vehicles is
so high right now.

The least available car seems to be the Honda Fit Sport at 37 MPG with a
cargo capacity of about 42 cubic feet which is roughly that of an SUV. I
bought a red one which was one of two available in the entire SF Bay area.
The other one was a floor demo that was not for sale.

The inventory of cars at dealers that I saw with lower MPG was far higher
than for the high MPG cars. All of this is happening when car sales are
doing very poorly now.

So the high gas prices seem to be having a longer term effect on buyers.
But the buyers seem to be requiring the large cargo spaces as they have in
SUV's.

The large cargo space is implemented by a design that lets one to all five
seats to be lowered down to produce a flat floor for all those trips to
Costco and other big box stores. So we may be seeing a shift to new type
vehicles that satisfy the needs of customers for big cargo spaces along with
high MPG at the same time. The decline and death of the SUV?

Of course oil prices are expected to drop significantly in the near future,
so it could all be just another temporary illusion.

[drydem]

I bought a new car this week to replace my old Porsche.  I was surprised how
hard it was to get what I wanted because the demand for high MPG vehicles is
so high right now.
The least available car seems to be the Honda Fit Sport at 37 MPG with a
cargo capacity of about 42 cubic feet which is roughly that of an SUV.  I
bought a red one which was one of two available in the entire SF Bay area.
The other one was a floor demo that was not for sale.
The inventory of cars at dealers that I saw with lower MPG was far higher
than for the high MPG cars.  All of this is happening when car sales are
doing very poorly now.
So the high gas prices seem to be having a longer term effect on buyers.
But the buyers seem to be requiring the large cargo spaces as they have in
SUV's.
The large cargo space is implemented by a design that lets one to all five
seats to be lowered down to produce a flat floor for all those trips to
Costco and other big box stores.  So we may be seeing a shift to new type
vehicles that satisfy the needs of customers for big cargo spaces along with
high MPG at the same time.  The decline and death of the SUV?
Of course oil prices are expected to drop significantly in the near future,
so it could all be just another temporary illusion.

Customers who need big cargo space also need to
look at the maximum cargo/passenger weight
the vehicle is designed to handle.
Hi mileage vehicles are usually designed to move
only a limited amount of cargo and passenger weight.


After 40 mphs - overcoming wind resistances becomes
a significant factor in achieving better gas mileage
(higher energy efficiency). When vehicles drive over
55 mphs, about half the energy expended by the
motor goes to overcoming wind resistance. (The
easy way to get better mileage on any well tuned
SUV is to avoid driving over 55 mph.) Hi mileage
vehicles normally reduce their wind resistance by
having smaller frontal surface -- which often is done
by making the vehicle more narrow.


The traditional SUV ( Ford Explorer) is losing part
of its market share to smaller more fuel efficient
cross over (unibody construction) SUVs (Toyota
RAV4 Honda CRV Kia Rondo ) in the DC Area as
gas prices head up. The SUV is also losing part of
its market to the Stationwagon/Notchback cars
(Toyota Matrix/PontiacVibe, Nissan Versa, Honda
Fit, Scion Bx) which is finally making a comeback.

In DC, when gas prices drop the sales for hi mileage
vehicles also drops while sales for lo mileage
vehicles start to pick up. When gas prices
start rising the sales for hi mileage vehicles
increases while sales for lo mileage vehicles drop.
In general - atleast from what I've been hearing
via the local trade/businesss news moguls --
the memory of Washington DC motor vehicle
buying public is very short.

[Jack May]

Post by drydem
Customers who need big cargo space also need to

look at the maximum cargo/passenger weight
the vehicle is designed to handle.
Hi mileage vehicles are usually designed to move
only a limited amount of cargo and passenger weight.

Very true. The Honda Fit maximum weight load is 850 pounds. At the same
time in my life, an 850 pound limit has not been a problem. The manual says
that the car can not be used to pull trailers.

Obviously a lot of people have a need to pull trailers which is an important
market for SUV's. We each select our vehicles to meet our own personal
needs.

Post by drydem
After 40 mphs - overcoming wind resistances becomes

a significant factor in achieving better gas mileage
(higher energy efficiency). When vehicles drive over
55 mphs, about half the energy expended by the
motor goes to overcoming wind resistance. (The
easy way to get better mileage on any well tuned
SUV is to avoid driving over 55 mph.) Hi mileage
vehicles normally reduce their wind resistance by

Post by drydem
having smaller frontal surface -- which often is done by making the vehicle
more narrow.

There is also obvious drag reduction shaping of the small vehicles to
increase the MPG. I don't know what the drag coefficient is of the
different small cars but some of them look like they have gone to extremes
to get the drag very low.

Post by drydem
The traditional SUV ( Ford Explorer) is losing part

of its market share to smaller more fuel efficient
cross over (unibody construction) SUVs (Toyota
RAV4 Honda CRV Kia Rondo ) in the DC Area as
gas prices head up. The SUV is also losing part of
its market to the Stationwagon/Notchback cars
(Toyota Matrix/PontiacVibe, Nissan Versa, Honda

Post by drydem
Fit, Scion Bx) which is finally making a comeback.

I did look at possibly buying a cross over vehicle but decided that I really
have no need for their added capabilities especially with gas going to be
expensive until alternative fuels come on the market. I was also fascinated
with the reliability and good design reputation of Hondas. Kids would
probably be a big factor in needing a cross over or full SUV

Post by drydem
In DC, when gas prices drop the sales for hi mileage

vehicles also drops while sales for lo mileage
vehicles start to pick up. When gas prices
start rising the sales for hi mileage vehicles
increases while sales for lo mileage vehicles drop.
In general - atleast from what I've been hearing
via the local trade/businesss news moguls --
the memory of Washington DC motor vehicle

Post by drydem
buying public is very short.

Yes, when gas prices drop later this year, low MPG car sales will pick up
again and the people that started using transit will return to using their
cars.

[Darryl]

Post by Jack May
Obviously a lot of people have a need to pull trailers which is an important
market for SUV's.  We each select our vehicles to meet our own personal
needs.

If you do a count of SUVs on the freeway as opposed to SUVs with
trailers, I don't think your statement holds true. And when the same
drivers purchase a vehicle that can tow 8500 lbs, but then fail to buy
it in diesel, I can't take their purchasing choice seriously. In
fact, Americans buy so few diesels that they are few diesel choices.
Most people don't select their vehicles to meet their personal needs,
they do it to meet their personal wants, their image of themselves,
marketing hype, etc.

If a 65 year old man marries an attractive woman, it doesn't mean he's
just interested in her looks. Unless she's 16. Then any "personal
need" arguments to the contrary, we all know why certain choices were
made.

Unfortunately, that's been an accurate analogy of the SUV market for
the past 10 years, and only now are gas prices making people examine
at least one aspect of their driving choices.

[Jack May]

Post by Jack May
Obviously a lot of people have a need to pull trailers which is an important
market for SUV's. We each select our vehicles to meet our own personal
needs.
If you do a count of SUVs on the freeway as opposed to SUVs with

trailers, I don't think your statement holds true. And when the same
drivers purchase a vehicle that can tow 8500 lbs, but then fail to buy
it in diesel, I can't take their purchasing choice seriously. In
fact, Americans buy so few diesels that they are few diesel choices.
Most people don't select their vehicles to meet their personal needs,
they do it to meet their personal wants, their image of themselves,

Post by Jack May
marketing hype, etc.

A lot of the purchases of SUV's has been people that thing they will be
safer in an SUV which tends not to be true. Obviously the reasons people
buy specific vehicles can be for multiple reasons. The car companies spend
lots of effort to discover the choices people make.

Diesel has not been popular in the US and I think until recently not legal
because of the pollution problems. Clean diesel technology is probably
expected to increase the sale of diesel.

Post by Jack May
Unfortunately, that's been an accurate analogy of the SUV market for

the past 10 years, and only now are gas prices making people examine

Post by Jack May
at least one aspect of their driving choices.

Yes it has become much more difficult to sell a SUV. I suspect people are
realizing that high gas prices are not temporary but will become an even
bigger problem until alternative fuels become common and cheaper then oil
products. I purposely bought a high
MPG car with large cargo capacity because I am assuming there will be major
price increases over the life of the car.