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"Now, many people who bought SUVs when they were trendy are embarrassed by them" (http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080614/AUTO03/806140301/1149/AUTO01)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Chevrolet_Trailblazer.jpgTom Krisher / AP - Detroit News - June 14, 2008

DETROIT -- Even in northern Wisconsin, where midsize sport utility vehicles are as common as deer, people are starting to abandon them because of high gasoline prices.

It's one of the last places to back away from the class of SUVs, which includes the once-popular Ford Explorer and Chevrolet TrailBlazer. Some industry analysts are already declaring the midsize SUV extinct.

"They're dinosaurs. Put a fork in them," Erich Merkle, vice president of auto industry forecasting for the consulting company IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids, Mich., said in an interview.

It's no secret that drivers are flocking to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars as the cost of gas marches higher. And midsize SUVs are built on the same frames as trucks, which add extra weight and drink more fuel.

So drivers who want a bigger ride are opting for newer crossover vehicles -- such as the Ford Edge or Buick Enclave -- that look and perform like SUVs but are lighter because they're built on the same underpinnings as cars.

They're not well-equipped to go off-road, but analysts say few people were using that feature, anyway.

The move away from midsize SUVs is painfully clear to Tonie Mixer of De Pere, Wis., who has been trying for a month to sell her cream-colored 2007 Explorer, which features heated leather seats and a power moon roof.

So far, the only inquires have been from brokers wanting to help with the sale.

"It's the perfect car," she said. "But it just uses the gas because we got the big engine in it."

It uses the cash, too. At $4 per gallon, it costs $90 to fill the 22 1/2 -gallon tank of a 2007 Explorer. A four-wheel-drive model with a powerful 4.6-liter V8 engine gets just 13 miles per gallon in the city and 18 on the highway.

Mixer has hers on the market, asking $27,995.

"We originally got it to pull our camper, but we're not going to be doing much of that any more," she said… http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080614/AUTO03/806140301/1149/AUTO01

My wife just dumped a Saturn LW3 for a Honda CR-V, bucking the trend...although the Honda has slightly better FE in the EPA tests.

What is amusing is the Enclave and similar 'midsized' SUV's have a smaller wheelbase than a Prius (103 versus 106) -

arguably these SUV's are smaller than a Prius

$28,000 for a used Explorer when you could get a loaded 2008 for less- good luck with that sale. Real life she will probably never sell it; it would sell for maybe $16000 if she could find a buyer. On a trade she would get under $10,000. It would only sell to someone who thinks that it gets decent FE - better than a full sized - because it is midsized. It doesn't it get worse!! She would have had to look far and wide to make a worse choice.

The 8 cyl 4wd Explorer EPA 13/18 .A Suburban 4x4 EPA 14/19 and Suburban sales are not just in the toilet, they are waaaay down the sewer pipe.

Charlie

What is amusing is the Enclave and similar 'midsized' SUV's have a smaller wheelbase than a Prius (103 versus 106) -

arguably these SUV's are smaller than a Prius

That means that this vehicle is less safe than it's sedan counterpart. A wheel base narrower than a Prius that is taller than a Prius is going to raise the center of gravity and make the car easier to flip over than the Prius.

$28,000 for a used Explorer when you could get a loaded 2008 for less- good luck with that sale. Real life she will probably never sell it; it would sell for maybe $16000 if she could find a buyer. On a trade she would get under $10,000. It would only sell to someone who thinks that it gets decent FE - better than a full sized - because it is midsized. It doesn't it get worse!! She would have had to look far and wide to make a worse choice.

The 8 cyl 4wd Explorer EPA 13/18 .A Suburban 4x4 EPA 14/19 and Suburban sales are not just in the toilet, they are waaaay down the sewer pipe.

Charlie


well she is trying to sell t for 28k, she probably bought it for 36k or something like that 2 years ago, since it says it has heated seats and a moonroof, maybe its the top of the line model. loosing 8k+ in 2 years is pretty bad for a new car, but i do agree that selling that thing privately now is about 15k, and dealers will offer less than 10k.

she probably owes 28k (after financing rates) so maybe shes trying to break even

I wouldnt buy that for even 2800, knowing that it will cost me more than 4 dollars to go 15 miiles

None of this is much help to Mixer, though, who bought her Explorer in March of last year. Gasoline was still around $2.50 per gallon.

"We didn't see this coming at all," she said. "I didn't realize it was ever going to get this bad."

Witness my lack of empathy. March 2007 with gas at $2.50 and rising rapidly and she couldn't foresee $4/gal? It's as if the world was at peace, multiple ghawar size fields had been discovered in friendly nations, and the threat of hurricanes or rig fires was finally contained by our space based weather/disaster control systems. Oh wait, we don't live in fantasy land. I wonder how she could NOT have seen it coming.

Between foreclosures and vehicles that they can't afford to own or drive there are a lot of people who are going to be in a LOT of trouble. We may all feel the pain of this hangover.

If I had seem $4 gallon coming just one year later I would be very very rich. I didn't and I'm not.

I'm not particularly concerned about this Explorer owner because she is probably fairly affluent if she can buy a new $36,000 vehicle, and can afford whatever it is she tows.

The problem with the midsized and the crossovers is that THEY JUST DON'T GET VERY GOOD FE relative to the fullsized SUVs they are replacing. This Explorer is worse, but most are just 20% better than Suburbans - the biggest of the big SUVs. Anyone buying a crossover now is taking a big chance, and must not have checked the EPA numbers very closely.

The folks who are hurting are those driving 10-15 year old beater trucks/vans/SUVs ($800-$2500 vehicles) that get maybe 10 city and 16 hy.


Charlie

Ahh...the Trailblazer SS. Actually a really cool vehicle if it weren't for its FSP nature.

The Midsize SUV isn't extinct per se. Instead I see it becoming like P/Us again- a speciality vehicle.

A good candidate for a midsize SUV is someone who:

1) Wants 4-6 seats
2) Knows exactly how much they can stuff into the SUV and how much it'll tow
3) Has "Ground Clearance" as a buying point
4) Hates the spare tire being underneath (for good reason)
5) Knows exactly when they need 4WD vs. 2WD
6) Wants better FE than driving a full-size SUV or P/U
7) Wants softer ride than P/U or better security
8) Can use a V6

The folks who are hurting are those driving 10-15 year old beater trucks/vans/SUVs ($800-$2500 vehicles) that get maybe 10 city and 16 hy.


Charlie

I'd say more than likely the ones driving the beaters are doing better. Most likely they have no car payments. A $1000 a month fuel bill is one thing, but add a $1000 a month car payment to it and :eek:.

I'd hardly call mid size SUV's extinct.

The local Honda dealer had 3 new Pilots sitting in the awaiting pickup zone. I think less people are buying SUV's but those that can afford to spend money on gas won't budge out of these monsters.

My mother has even started to complain about filling up her Lexus but her atypical ultra liberal answer is her dismay with Hillary backing out. She felt certain Hillary could be counted on to do the fair thing and socialize gasoline, let all people share the equal burden of our energy crisis :rolleyes:

And people wonder why I'm so critical of liberals sometimes.... Thank you mom...

I'd hardly call mid size SUV's extinct.

The local Honda dealer had 3 new Pilots sitting in the awaiting pickup zone. I think less people are buying SUV's but those that can afford to spend money on gas won't budge out of these monsters.

My mother has even started to complain about filling up her Lexus but her atypical ultra liberal answer is her dismay with Hillary backing out. She felt certain Hillary could be counted on to do the fair thing and socialize gasoline, let all people share the equal burden of our energy crisis :rolleyes:

And people wonder why I'm so critical of liberals sometimes.... Thank you mom...

Wow - socializing gasoline!?! - Hillary is actually pretty moderate and would likely have done nothing for gas prices - appropriately. There are ignorant liberals and ignorant conservatives.

"We didn't see this coming at all" is going to be the domestic auto industry's epitaph.

How could they not see this coming is my question? Don't they realize their products have a complementary relationship with gas prices? Just about everything I've read in the last 3 years about energy supplies and demand pointed to where we are now.

I shake my head in disgust every time I read or watch one of these articles sympathizing with the lack of foresight on the part of auto makers and consumers. Its mind boggling to me.

For the record, I own one of these mid-size SUVs to tow a boat. I knew what I was getting into, and its is quickly becoming a summertime vehicle only when we want to hit the lake. It still has value for recreation, but not much more, and never really did!

[QUOTE=GreenVTEC;110042...My mother has even started to complain about filling up her Lexus but her atypical ultra liberal answer is her dismay with Hillary backing out. She felt certain Hillary could be counted on to do the fair thing and socialize gasoline, let all people share the equal burden of our energy crisis ...[/QUOTE]

Well, HRC voted for the Iraq war so she directly bears some responsibility for high oil prices along with all the other warhawks in Mordor (I have no idea how HRC got so much liberal backing -- I'm a liberal and I'd vote for my garden slugs before I'd vote for HRC).

As for socializing fuel prices, if that happens hypermiling will become a requirement for all drivers due to fuel shortages. Supply is not endless and unless we collectively curb demand, supply will not meet demand. That will mean rationing. Keeping fuel costs low will discourage a reduction in demand. It's actually the last thing we need right now.

Um.... Iraq's output is higher today than before the war so how exactly does the war have any responsibility for gas prices? Ok the military is using more but they would have been using some anyway for war games and the usual routine patrols. There was a period of decreased output in Iraq but it was roughly 1% of world use so I doubt it made the price of oil go from $25 to $135.

Supply and demand is an amazing thing. Market preparing for increase in demand and reducing supply is even more impressive.

Conserve ... it is the conservative thing to do....