Posted on 12/31/2010 11:59:40 PM PST by Libloather
SUVs lead U.S. auto sales growth despite efforts to improve fuel efficiency
By Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 29, 2010; 10:01 PM
If U.S. consumers are in the midst of a green revolution, the news hasn't reached car buyers.
With the end of the recession, bigger vehicles have made a comeback, sales figures show, and it has come at the expense of smaller, more-efficient cars.
Leading the growth were sales of midsize sport-utility vehicles, which jumped 41 percent through the first 11 months of the year, led by vehicles such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Honda Pilot, each of which get about 18 miles per gallon.
Sales of small cars, by contrast, remained flat despite otherwise surging demand for automobiles. Sales of the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic declined, and even the fuel-sipping Toyota Prius, the hybrid darling of the eco-conscious, dropped 1.7 percent.
"You have about 5 percent of the market that is green and committed to fuel efficiency," said Mike Jackson, the chief executive of AutoNation, the largest auto retailer in the country. "But the other 95 percent will give up an extra 5 mpg in fuel economy for a better cup holder."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Yeah, no doubt. I’m glad I kept my Civic when we bought our SUV.
You should check with Admin about how much of the WP you can quote. The scumbags have brought legal action against FR in the past. Please check.
Yeah, but this is the liberal version of “legislating morality” - and yup, hey look, it backfired. Imagine that.
Yeah, they had to slip that in there. Recession isn’t nearly over.
Americans like big and roomy cars. Screw the gas mileage. Versatility and comfort come first for families.
The SUV remains king of the road no matter how much liberals demonize it.
Americans like big and roomy cars. Screw the gas mileage. Versatility and comfort come first for families.
The SUV remains king of the road no matter how much liberals demonize it.
Americans like big and roomy cars. Screw the gas mileage. Versatility and comfort come first for families.
The SUV remains king of the road no matter how much liberals demonize it.
Americans like big and roomy cars. Screw the gas mileage. Versatility and comfort come first for families.
The SUV remains king of the road no matter how much liberals demonize it.
Americans like big and roomy cars. Screw the gas mileage. Versatility and comfort come first for families.
The SUV remains king of the road no matter how much liberals demonize it.
Americans like big and roomy cars. Screw the gas mileage. Versatility and comfort come first for families.
The SUV remains king of the road no matter how much liberals demonize it.
When my girl friend road in her first SUV she was surprised at the visibility in almost all directions. She remarked how much safer she felt. Now she is looking at SUV type vehicles to replace her current car.
Gas price verses safety - which one do you thing the American motorist will purchase?
300 words or less than 50% of the original article.
I recently bought a VW Jetta TDI. The mechanicals are wonderful. No complaints on economy (40-41mpg) or acceleration and handling. I bought the “sportwagen” for the ability to carry more. But if you’re over about 5’8” you can forget being comfortable. The ergonomics s@#k. The seat and every place you’d rest an arm are like marble. By far the worst aspect is that the Jetta, and every small car, now have a center console. This is like every car having running boards. It’s a fashion accessory. Apparently, if your car doesn’t have this console then it looks cheap. The leg and foot room is already tiny. I have relatives with 15-17 inch long feet. They couldn’t even operate the controls there is so little room. My feet are 12 inches in shoes and I have a hard time. With my feet down there I have about six inches of side to side room. If the console were not there (and it’s in every car now) they designers could have put the gas pedal further to the right.
I suspect the reason SUV’s are selling so well is, even if they have the dreaded fashion-statement console, they have more room and are therefore more comfortable. The most comfortable cars I’ve had were the old ones with upright seating. Man, if I could just get one of those with a diesel engine I’d be in heaven. Who wants to voluntarily fold up into a sardine can for a five hour drive?
Well... at my average height, my VW New Beetle is ergonomically perfect for long drives. I’m interested to see whether VW’s transitioning the car to the Jetta platform for 2012 will give it a more masculine look. I’m a guy and I know its tagged a “chick car” but I don’t care. Besides a car that smiles back at me is good for my mood.
Hope you didn’t buy the automatic.
Also, the ‘old’ cars with diesel engines are either Mercedes... or they’re crap. (See: GM 350 diesel.)
The best thing is the car is fun in traffic and the price tag was less than 18k.
Actually, the DSG automatic is spectacular. The DSG is the reason I bought new rather than used. It only came out in the middle of ‘09. The DSG has two clutches. When you’re accelerating the unengaged clutch transitions to the next gear and the opposite happens when you decelerate. The acceleration is seamless and, once you’re past the first to second transition, you can’t tell it’s switching gears. Also, there’s a computer that uses engine breaking the same way I would with a clutch.
I looked at old Mercedes, as I had a 220D and loved it. But they were all either too old or out of my price range. The VW was $28,800 for a new car. I’m 56 and I’ve never had a new car before. I’m just sorry I had to get it when we’re in the middle of this center-console fetish. (Oh, and some plush would be nice. I carry a variety of pillows.)
I forget if the DSG has the same transmission cooler design as the older automatics, but I do know that the last conventional-auto TDI Jetta had the same wretched cooler design they’ve used for years.
They put the transmission cooler in the radiator assembly in such a way that the only thing separating transmission fluid from the coolant is a little sub-$1 O-ring. Guess what happens when the car ages a bit and the O-ring starts to decay and shrink.
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