Unless gas hits $10 a gallon, Americans will continue to buy SUVs in droves. - Inspired by the continued sales of SUVs.

Mark Bruschi is absolutely right: as long as rich people are still driving to the beach, there will be stable SUV sales in this country. But big SUV manufacturers like Ford and Chevy would do well to push their hybrid SUVs to cash-strapped and (now) environmentally conscious consumers. Expect sales for hybrids like the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute to take off this year.

People buy larger cars because they need the room. In the 50’s it was station wagons in the 90’s it was mini-vans and now SUV. A lot of people need to put the husband and wife, two or three kids, the dog and luggage in the car and go to grandma’s for the weekend. You can’t do that in an econo-box. Which SUV you pick may have more to do with status than utility but picking the volume of the SUV is about utility. We built the bulk of our suburban infrastructure after World War Two when the car made getting from point A to point B convenient and was much cheeper for us than building the mass transit. People will continue to buy cars that deliver the utility they need. Gas mileage may become a bigger factor in which package they pick, but they still need to put the same contents in that package. Oh, yea - you’ll continue to see one person in a car because that how many people they need to move that trip, and that the car they have. I have have to have a 4 wheel drive for about 5 days a winter or I can’t get out of where I live. I need a pickup truck about once or twice a week so I have two cars. One is a medium gas mileage car (35 mpg) and one low gas milage (15 mpg). I bought an old VW as a high mileage (close to 30 mpg) car to use for the trips I don’t need the truck.

What I think this shows us is that we have too much stuff and not enough imagination when it comes to how we run our lives. Why do you need a big car to go to the beach? How much stuff do you really need to take? I have a civic hybrid with 3 chair seats in the back and a roof rack on top. My family does quite well with the space we have in the car. We have made numerous camping trips around our state and even trekked down to see the grandparents in North Carolina.

I know this to be true. I took a road trip this past weekend, and the majority of vehicles on the road were SUVs, pickup trucks, and RVs. Most of these had loads of people in them or a hitch attached, or bikes on them, or camping equipment, etc. They're just more convenient for certain types of lifestyles. In comparison, I probably saw one Smart Fortwo, about 5 Mini Coopers, about 5 VW bugs, but then also gaggles of motorcyclers. I couldn't even tell if I saw a hybrid vehicle or not. I covered a lot of distance on my road trip too -- so I think I saw a pretty good sampling of at least the East Coast of America. Of course, people were filling up at Sunoco pumps, which averaged $3.89/gallon for regular. Most other stations were $4 and above. After what I saw this weekend, I think it's going to take a lot -- perhaps even more people losing their jobs, for us to see a decrease in SUV sales.

Sorry to say it folks, but Americans aren't getting any smaller either.

We need less-bigoted, more informed terminology injected into the gas mileage discussion. People use "SUV" to mean a vehicle that gets bad mileage. But there are plenty of full-size cars, mini-vans, large sports cars, and pick-up trucks that get mileage that's worse than today's average SUV. Sure, the obscenely large SUVs get the worst mileage, but there are plenty of small and even mid-sized SUVs whose mileage is the same as your average car, station wagon, or mini-van. It's a form of bigotry: people in general, and Americans in particular, love to feel superior. By demonizing all SUV drivers, the users of such blanket-condemnation epithets get to feel superior every time they see an SUV. Last point: the mile or two less per gallon that SUV drivers loses due to all-wheel-drive at least gives a very safety benefit in exchange. How is this so different from people who give up a mile or two per gallon in return for the comfort of a larger vehicle?

Perhaps the representative of a leading-brand automobile dealership is not the best source of information for consumer forecasts. Not that he has any interest in fanning the fires. The vehicles you see on the road are not at all indicative of current buying habits. Keep in mind that SUVs have been the vehicle of choice for well over a decade, and the lifespan of these vehicles will keep them on the road en masse for years to come. Hybrids are new, and until the past year, they public was not able to buy them in great volume. Like any new model, they will continue to be the minority for years to come. SUVs are indeed on the decline. Toyota's SUVs may be down by a mere 15%, but if Ford/GM/Chrysler's were down only 15%, they would not be in such great pain. We are seeing a shift, but we are at the beginning.

Exactly what Dorn Lynch said. This isn't news, it's an ad for a Toyota dealership. "Toyota will honor Richardson for his 25 years as owner at 11 a.m. Tuesday in a small ceremony with local officials." <-- because that's clearly relevant.

I disagree. In addition to safety and size people are purchasing SUV's because their prices have plummeted due to the rising cost of oil & gasoline. While SUV's are still gas guzzlers, buyers are speculating that they will probably break even when comparing the overall savings on the cost of the vehicle to the price of gasoline. Personally, I don’t know of too many people who are topping off their tanks no matter what size vehicle their driving.

Price of the vehicles, incentives (0 percent interest for 5 years) and other factors are still making some SUVs attractive to buyers. When the price of fuel is added, they still may come out ahead with the purchase. Lifestyle, as some have said, have made SUVs the choice for others. Looking at the car lots around here, there were quite a few large trucks/SUVs on the lots. They are dwindling in number. My guess is they are getting rid of what they have on the lots and taking in fewer new ones. Since the manufacturers are decreasing output, I'd think the orders are decreasing. I'd love to get rid of mine, but it's paid for. Trade in wouldn't get me a new more efficient car, and my funds aren't where I can pay cash for the difference. So I drive the SUV (eeking out 24 MPG) rather than assume the financial burden of the car loan.

Just because people are seen driving SUVs on weekends doesn't mean they do it every day. Not to mention, SUVs can be rented, and they don't automatically have signs all over them stating that they are rental vehicles.. People with more money than common sense &/or respect will drive gas-guzzlers until they put themselves in behind the 8-ball financially.. Some of them will never get there, true, but the majority of people will buy and drive fuel-efficient vehicles for every day. Our company truck and my own vehicle are older, diesel, get 20 mpg, and are full-size - which I see as responsible vehicle-buying and use. Too, I live and work in the country, and mini-vehicles just don't work for us country people. Not all of us work in offices in towns (for which I am MOST thankful!).. Now - if we could put a stop to city people invading the country, driving up the cost of land (and therefore, of food), while they commute unnecessarily, wasting fuel in the name of "their rights" at the expense of our Holy Mother the Earth and all who share Her....

I think I may have been a little too forward in my previous post. To anyone who may have been offended, I apologize. The fact of the matter is, SUV's or any large vehicle tend to have more room—not just for multiple persons, but for storage/equipment/materials as well. The comfort factor does weigh in (no pun intended) as a purchase factor, as well. We're starting to see large SUV's with a hybrid/internal combustion engine combos on the road, so the trend could be a good thing for the automobile manufacturers. But again, it's baby steps. Like other posters have said, peoples driving habits have been cut back, gas tanks aren't nearly topped off like they used to be, so only time will tell.

Disagree. This morning, Ford announced that it lost BILLIONS of dollars, and as a result are trying to turn 3 SUV plants into plants that manufacture smaller cars. I'm not veyr big into the 'Green' movement, but it's out there and people are taking action. They are also sick of paying over $4.00 a gallon for gas and many simply Won't.

We American are at present living with the prospect of paying more than $5 a Gallon for gas. It has turned our mode of life upside down. We can work to bring to life, the old joy of driving, by paying 60 cents a gallon of gas. It will be a pleasure going around in your car for grocery buying, long distance travel, neighborhood driving and vacationing, etc. We think best ready solution is plug-in-electric station for electric vehicles. It is to distribute electric power, to electric or hybrid cars, all with a station consisting of an 110V plug-in just outside ones house, in the parking lots of café or other establishments frequented by people. Plug-In Station platform can calculate the amount the electricity supplier is entitled to receive from the customer. This is based on the size of the car, and service time. In terms of travel cost it is just equivalent to 40 cents a gallon. The spread of plug-in-electric stations will induce people to go for electric or partially electric (hybrid) cars. Besides it is environment friendly. The call of the day is to look for alternate and cheaper energy supply source. One day our success will make people look toward to other cheaper sources of energy for their cars. Plug-In Station by HouseDNA.com

We American are at present living with the prospect of paying more than $5 a Gallon for gas. It has turned our mode of life upside down. We can work to bring to life, the old joy of driving, by paying 60 cents a gallon of gas. It will be a pleasure going around in your car for grocery buying, long distance travel, neighborhood driving and vacationing, etc. We think best ready solution is plug-in-electric station for electric vehicles. It is to distribute electric power, to electric or hybrid cars, all with a station consisting of an 110V plug-in just outside ones house, in the parking lots of café or other establishments frequented by people. Plug-In Station platform can calculate the amount the electricity supplier is entitled to receive from the customer. This is based on the size of the car, and service time. In terms of travel cost it is just equivalent to 40 cents a gallon. The spread of plug-in-electric stations will induce people to go for electric or partially electric (hybrid) cars. Besides it is environment friendly. The call of the day is to look for alternate and cheaper energy supply source. One day our success will make people look toward to other cheaper sources of energy for their cars. Plug-In Station by HouseDNA.com