Posted on 01/03/2011 6:10:10 PM PST by Kaslin
Environmentalism: Sales of those planet-killing SUVs and trucks are rising while sales of "all-electric" vehicles are slower than expected. Saving the planet takes a back seat to safety and comfort.
Ever since the first Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards were enacted, Americans have consistently rejected efforts by government and environmentalists to force them to drive what many deride as "clown cars." They've opted instead for full-size cars, SUVs and trucks that can actually carry a family and all its stuff in comfort and safety.
The auto industry was particularly hard hit during this recession, so it's interesting to learn how consumers are spending their precious dollars. They're again picking SUVs and trucks to do the job.
Automotive website Edmunds.com reports that when the numbers are in, truck sales are expected to have risen 14.9% over last year with sales of SUVs surging 21.3%. Midsize car sales are up 7.8%, but sales of the much-touted hybrids are expected to have fallen by a disappointing 8.1%.
As for those all-electric cars, GM expects to sell only about 10,000 Volts this year, and Nissan expects to sell about 25,000 Leafs in the U.S., despite the government's offering as much as $7,500 in incentives. This is an astonishingly small number against the 1.13 million vehicles sold in 2010.
"You have about 5% of the market that is green and committed to fuel efficiency," says Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation, the largest auto retailer in the country. "But the other 95% will give up an extra 5 mpg in fuel economy for a better cup holder."
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
...the other day an industery insider said that the easy fixes have already been used up to meet CAFE standards....from here on out it’s going to cost $10-12,000 per car to meet the coming government regulations....that increased cost doesn’t pay out at $3.00 gas...if gas goes to $4/$5/$6, then people will buy a new car...Obama will add more tax to get the price/gallon up...he wants to force us to buy clown cars.
0bama can shove his clown cars where the sun doesn’t shine
Well we just need to raise taxes and pass laws forcing people in to these green cars!
-Mercedes Marxists and Limo Libs nationwide.
Well, I’m loving my 2011 F450 King Ranch crew cab, long bed dualie.
The more I see these bureaucrat bastards in action, the more I think the only reason they want $5+ per gallon gasoline and outrageously priced REAL vehicles, is to force the lowly, unwashed, undeserving dregs like me off the streets and roads so that THEY can have them, and all the parking spaces, all to themselves and their limos!
I was just drooling over a King Ranch 250 yesterday! Pray tell what that 450 cost ya... Truly wanting one!
I don’t want to know, I’m still driving my Chevy C-20
3/4 ton from 1975. The 90 250 diesel is down for a
clutch, just as well with diesel prices the way they
are, although it gets a little better mileage, and
has power steering, most people today don’t know what
it’s like to drive a truck without it. I do, I have
arms you wouldn’t believe.
about $65K with al the bells and whistles
Ping
Exactly
With those big bulky car seats that they require your kids to sit in till age 8, you learn that only a big car will work for your family.
Once you get the big car, you are hooked and there isn’t anyway you are going to go back.
Back in the 70s, we had a small car but no one used booster seats, car seats, except the baby carriers.
My Sister was taken home on my Mom’s lap. No one thought it strange.
I think these nanny laws have driven the big car market in the US along with those that actually need a truck for work.
When I see my Congressman driving a Leaf or a Volt because they are the only cars available to government employees, I’ll reconsider.
When I see my Congressman driving a Leaf or a Volt, I'm revolting.
Why should we buy them such expensive cars?
You may go to the head of the class.
Liberal convention has it that the masses must live in high-rise apartments and rely on mass transit to reach their place of employment.
In other words, it is we who are to live in Moscow. It is they who will need their limos to commute from their dachas.
They all drive Lincolns and Cadillac now. Let’s put them in these little tin cans they want us to drive.
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