Gas Prices Driving Buyers to Smaller Cars

Sections: Best of the Web | Efficiency May 8th, 2008 21 Comments

Sales Chart A great article via the Paper of record. It would seem that those SUV drivers are really getting tired of having to swipe their credit cards twice to fill up their tanks.

In what industry analysts are calling a first, about one in five vehicles sold in the United States was a compact or subcompact car during April, based on monthly sales data released Thursday. Almost a decade ago, when sport utility vehicles were at their peak of popularity, only one in every eight vehicles sold was a small car.

Amazing stats. Oh, but there’s more.

Sales of Toyotaâ€™s subcompact Yaris increased 46 percent, and Hondaâ€™s tiny Fit had a record month. Fordâ€™s compact Focus model jumped 32 percent in April from a year earlier. All those models are rated at more than 30 miles per gallon for highway driving.

Not to mention MINIUSA Sales up almost 40% for April.

Full-size pickup sales have fallen more than 15 percent this year, with Fordâ€™s industry-leading F-Series pickup dropping 27 percent in April alone. Sales of pickups, though, are expected to strengthen with the economy, because of their use as commercial vehicles.

The rise in sales of more fuel-efficient vehicles occurred during one of the industryâ€™s worst months in more than a decade. For the month, G.M. sales dropped 23 percent and Ford slid 19 percent, while Toyota fell by 5 percent. The figures were adjusted for the fact that this April had two more selling days than a year ago.

It’s a great article. Made me smile to know that I don’t have to worry about ‘trading down’ to a small car, since I already have one thankyouverymuch.

[ As Gas Costs Soar, Buyers Flock to Small Cars ] Nytimes.com

Written By: DB

C4

Damn, my Clubman S does better mileage than any of these and with much better power delivery/handling to boot.
http://www.dickdavid.com dickdavid

Good. At least there is some good coming out of the high gas prices.
Nathaniel Salzman

Damn, my Clubman S does better mileage than any of these and with much better power delivery/handling to boot.

Sure, but a Fit is nearly half the cost of a Clubman S. You certainly get what you pay for as the Fit is hardly premium. But it is great, basic, low-cost transportation.

We’re buying a Fit ourselves, actually, to replace my wife’s pickup truck. Gas prices are also driving 100-120% growth in scooter and bicycle sales. The local shop here can’t un-crate scooters fast enough to keep up with sales.

I’m ambivalent as to whether to swap my R53 for an R56 Cooper for the gas mileage, or put that money into a pulley, intake, and exhaust on my R53 and just drive it differently while commuting.
Matt

I’m being repetive, but I can’t stand how everyone talks about 33 mpg being unbelieveable and they don’t even realize that the Mini Cooper gets 40 mpg.
C4

Nathaniel, before you seal the deal on that new ’08 Honda Fit, make sure to check out that all new ’09 Fit due in dealers this fall:

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FirstDrives/articleId=122688

My Clubman S has a turbocharged 172HP engine, yet I am getting at or near the MPG figures of these “lesser” cars with less power on tap.

Sure the Honda fit is a very good car, but I personally would wait for the ’09 model.
C4

Also none of those ecars have direct fuel injection technology like the MINI.
Ken E.

HONDA FIT: With 10 cup holders it must be a true drivers car. (comments directed at ’09′ model)
http://mcarlo52.themotorcade.com mike c.

The Honda and Toyota are both cars for the masses, and no one can argue about their reputation for reliability. The original Mini may have been a car for the masses as well, but the current MINI is a premium car and is priced accordingly. In hind sight, the MINI was on the cutting edge of the current small car market. It’s not why I bought one, but nice to know I’m a “leader” in some kind of market movement ;-)
Steve S

The demand for smaller cars and more fuel efficient cars will continue. Even with diesel being $4.50 /gal I think VW well sell plenty of the new 09 Jetta TDI. Wonder if BMW would consider bringing over the Cooper D.

If gas goes much higher I may consider a Clubman S, it would hurt to lose the performance though. The JCW would help but that is awfully expensive with the options I’d pick.
nuvolari

Price signals are the only way to move the market. CAFE standards, my a$$.
Dennis

I purchased an 07 Ford Mustang GT California Spacial Convertible for cash and 4 months later traded it in on my 06 MCS because of the hour drive to and from work. I just ordered my 09 JCW and have already realized a saving in gas versus the loss in value from one vehicle to the other. My Mini is more fun to drive as well.
C4

I am glad the death of the SUV is here and now.
miniman101

Say goodbye to GM and Ford for the most part. Unless they see that trucks do have a weakness. Haha I hate truck that are used for anything but what they should be used for. Like “cruising” in this little town I live in.
Nathaniel Salzman

Nathaniel, before you seal the deal on that new â€˜08 Honda Fit, make sure to check out that all new â€˜09 Fit due in dealers this fall

Thanks for that! Yeah, I’m going to see when the ’09 is due out. We haven’t pulled the trigger on it yet, so this is very good info. The Fit as-is is a very solid little car and doesn’t feel like a rental, so if they’ve really improved it in the way edmonds is saying, then it ought to be pretty nice. Looks like a Prius’ spunky younger sibling.
Sideways

You know, it always made me puke at how gullible all these folks were that thought they needed a 3-ton SUV to be “safe”. Seems as if it took a few $100 fill-ups, and I think they still don’t have any concept of “safe”.

I had one of the CarTalk (Tom+Ray on NPR) bumper stickers on my R53: “Live larger, drive smaller (not everyone needs a SUV)”

I’ve decided not to put one on my new R56, ’cause now it will be a fashion statement, ala’ all of the Prius-driving movie stars.

In the words of James McMurtry “We Can’t Make It Here” – how much longer?

At least we have our MINIs now.
C4

Detroit, Tokyo (And to an extent the Germans) all cooked up and benefited the marketing campaigns that ignited the SUV craze in the ’90s. Most automakers mistakenly believed that the SUV “Cash Cow” was never going to go away plus they also made a wrong bet against odds of never increasing gas prices.

The SUV bubble has finally burst and the steady decline in sales of truck based SUVs and pickups has been taking place steadely since ’03 or ’04.

But the masses have no one but themselves to blame for allowing this fad to live out this long. I have no sympathy for those who bought into this BS and now they are awkening to the fact that the jacked up truck is not cool anymore and costs serious $$$$ to keep it running.

The difference now vs the last gas crisis of ’73 is that gas prices are never going to down, and in fact, now we will be joining the rest of the developed world when it comes to expensive petrol. Will Americans learn their lesson this second time around? Time will tell. But it is evident that sales or smaller vehicles are skyrocketing and SUVs are a dying breed, pretty much like the dinosaurs that once ruled earth eons ago.
Vanwall

The SUV’s and trucks didn’t have to meet many of the same crash-safety standards the cars have to meet – it was cheaper to produce them, as they didn’t have so much complicated chassis design or electronics. Their only safety was in size alone, unless you tried evasive manouvering, then ya end up on your head. Manufacturers made a lot more money on them in the short run, and didn’t much care what happened after they left the lot. If they had been able to make lottsa money on 2-wheels, hamster-cages, and a tractor seat, we’d be seeing gobs of those on the road. Follow the money, gang, follow the money. Remember, they were pushing SUV’s and Pick-ups when it was obvious things were gonna change due to instability in the Middle East, and they blissfully went along with the rosey scenario. They must pay for their lack of vision.
Aussom

… Providing MINI with the perfect opportunity to move into the SUV market with a more compact & fuel-efficient MINi SUV than the “big rigs” …
Ian F

Funny… I have noticed a lot more 2-door Yaris’ (Yari?) tooling around… funny looking little things…

I’m not so enthusiastic about the new Jetta TDI or have high hopes for the MINI D coming this way… not when I just paid $4.35/gal to fill my ’03 TDI last night and RUG is roughly 35% less…
RamÃ³n

I live in California, and I’m hoping to buy my very first MINI. The dealer that I contacted said that they don’t finance using MINI Select. Has anyone else had a similar experience; is this unique to this dealer?

From the dealer: “Unfortunately we do not do the MINI select, it is a form of balloon payment and in the gray area of being illegal in CA.”
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