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Autos Intended as Bridge Between Cars and SUVs Continue Sales Decline. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121780463828708359.html?mod=yahoo_buzz)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/2007_Ford_Edge_Front_Passenger_Side.jpgMatthew Dolan & Sharon Terlep - WSJ - Aug 4, 2008

Already struggling with a downturn tied to gasoline prices, auto makers have another headache to deal with -- falling crossover-vehicle sales.

Crossover vehicles, car-based wagons designed to look and function like SUVs but with modestly better fuel economy, were booming coming into 2008. But sales have dropped off as consumers have flocked to less expensive and more efficient passenger cars.

This is forcing auto makers to further rethink a business model largely dependent on the sales and profits of large vehicles.

Despite a flood of new models in the segment, sales of crossovers were down 11% in July compared with July 2007, according to Autodata Corp., representing the third straight month of sharp declines amid a wider downturn in the overall market.

Even though the segment continues to outperform vehicle sales in general, and despite car companies' big hopes for crossovers, auto makers have been forced to scale back production plans as sales of crossovers have missed the mark… http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121780463828708359.html?mod=yahoo_buzz

This is not surprising. A recent study showed many supposedly "effcient" crossovers were actually heavier than equivalent or previous generation body on frame SUVs. Most are FSPs and apparently consumers are not being fooled.

I believe Americans are being hit in the pocket book so hard that they are being very careful when replacing the family charriot. Adds that say "Better fuel economy than any typical 8-passenger SUV" might have worked if the cost of gasoline only went up 5 or 10% last year. But to condemn your family to pay for gas at 20 miles a gallon for as long as you keep the car without the option of trading it until you have paid for it and finally to take a bath on what you get for it if you do find some poor unfortunate foolish enough to buy it from you, makes many Americans carefully consider the move.

As the going gets tougher Americans will defenitely look before they leap!!

Wow, what a freakin' surprise this is!!
A Suburban - poster child for the BIG SUV -EPAs 14/20 .The average crossover EPAs 16/23 !!

The crossovers get barely 15% better FE than the poster child BIG SUV !!

Shouldn't have taken more than a nanosecond to figure out they they-crossovers- were losers -.They would pay $30,000 more to get most of the poor FE , and lose half of the utility/carrying capacity.

Charlie

(Mainstream) Consumers used to accept 20 miles per gallon highway as 'decent'

Hence, the Auto guys thought a 24 MPG Crossover would satisfy a market demanding higher mpg's.

But they've been blindsided - Mainstream Consumers have radically changed their minimum expectations of 'decent' which now appear to be 30 MPG HWY.


All cars that get 30 MPG HWY is selling well. All cars with less than 30 MPG HWY can't move.



There is one exception to these changing consumer demands - in July GM sold one H1 Hummer. Yes folks, somewhere in this fair land of ours remains one person who doggedly believes that it is his God given right to get 5 MPG. We might disagree with this person's personal choice, but we should be awed by his ability to make a $50,000 purchase which not one other American was courageous enough to make this July.

My question - when will the last H1 Hummer be sold ?

Hi All:

___About X-Overs. They are just SUV’s without the frame as far as I am concerned. 2001 Acura MDX wannabe’s with more electronic gadgets and larger sun roofs. The Manufacturers did however try and pull the wool over the consumers eyes with the segment. Any real difference in FE offered was going to be because of newer ICE technology, not weight reduction.

___Like everyone here saw, these things were not going to sell well w/ fuel costs tripling in < 5 years.

___To give some credit, the Ford Edge is a nice looking vehicle. I wouldn’t touch it due to its FE but it is nice looking :rolleyes:

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I think DUH!,,, covers this real well.... LMAO

Agreed, "crossover" is just a way of saying unibody SUV.

What we really need are wagons. Call them crossovers if you want, because heaven knows the auto industry is deathly afraid to utter the word "wagon". Which has always seemed odd to be, because:
1) In THIS part of the country, "wagon" is considered a good thing. Sporty. Something you can actually haul gear to the trailhead with. My '01 Jetta Wagon is worth $3k more here than a comparable Jetta sedan, not to mention $3k more than I paid for it in Arizona. Which made it worth the trip down there to get it. Your loss, Phoenix!
2) SUVS are wagons. Read the "vehicle type" statement for any SUV review in Car and Driver: "5-passenger, 5 door, four wheel drive wagon" right there in black and white.
3) Minivans carry even more stigma than wagons, yet automakers aren't as afraid to say "minivan". Go figure.

Of course I realize that part of the problem is that the word "wagon" scares some buyers away. A lot of Americans are too into looking "cool" to grow up and admit that they have families and drive a family car. When I see somebody driving around in a tough-guy SUV and two baby seats in back, I just laugh. Hey, you're NOT cool -- you're 40 and have kids! So what? Drive an appropriate car. You can still listen to butt rock or even hip-hop if you want, but NO ONE under 25 (which is all that matters on the coolness scale) thinks you're cool. Heck, I'm over 40, have a kid and I know I'm not cool. No illusions here. I know I couldn't be cool no matter how I tried, so no sense wasting money and gas trying. Give $4 gas time to work its magic and a lot more people will finally figure this out.

My wife has a Edge she loves it but now we take the new focus most of the time.
I have the most fun hypermiling the Edge when she is in it and I get 40% better mpg then she does. (I think she is starting to pay attention to what i am doing). At least it beats the 17mpg of the f150 i got rid of.

___To give some credit, the Ford Edge is a nice looking vehicle. I wouldn’t touch it due to its FE but it is nice looking :rolleyes:I feel that way about the Flex. I think it's a great looking vehicle -- oh, I suppose because it looks like a station wagon -- but it's way too thirsty (and big) for my taste. Bring out a 3/4 scale Flex with a hybrid drivetrain and 30-40mpg, and Ford would have my attention.