So with the gas prices and everyone and their mom going green these days, what is the impact of SUV sales projections? I know some car manufacturers have closed down plants, re-invented themselves with hybrid SUV's, etc. Any stats or speculations?

Discuss.

 

I'd be happy if SUV's sales slumped and there were fewer of them on the road.

What I do NOT like is that they are preaching this Hybrid technology to everyone and make the claim they are being freindly to the environment.

Imagine if they were to start using technology for cars that are just sitting on used car lots and be able to start manufacturing parts for those older cars that do get good gas mileage like older model civics, corolla's, accords, tercels, etc... and bring life to those cars again. It takes more resources to build a new car than it does to re-use a car that has already been manufactured IMO.

Civics for example have already proven themselves to last well over 200K miles. If I owned one, why do I HAVE to trade it in and get a civic hybrid to be friendly to the environment if my current civic already gets 30+ mpg and I'm happy with it. Start making more fucking parts for it that use newer technologies if possible to improve it's performance.

 

while hybrids aren't necessarily the answer...i hear a lot of talk about hybrids and MPG and how you can close to the same MPG on a gas car. What people aren't taking into account is the emissions of the car. When a hybrid is running on batteries, there is no emissions. I don't want to get into the emission in relation to the manufacturing of the batteries and other environmental issues.

I just wanted to point out the ideas behind hybrids are more than just better MPG. People just see that as the cost savings to them.

 

The emisssions are another point in itself and I didn't want to get into that discussion either, but it definitetly is a +point to buying a hybrid. Although the environmental issues for producing a hybrid are what kill it for me. I'd rather buy a used car that gets good mileage than buy the hybrid for those reasons.

 

we (the world) need a solution and the current SUVs aren't it. I'd be fine if everyone drove around wagons and sedans. Which is what my wife and I drive. I do see a market for trucks/suvs if you are hauling or towing. but people who think they need an expedition for their 2 kids are crazy. I grew up riding in the back of a camry and a maxima with no problems.

 

Hybrids are a scam. Did you ever realize that the companies that are bragging about their Hybrid technology (toyota and ford) all have a bunch of gas guzzling smog producing V8's in the line up?

Toyota needs to sell the prius or they can't sell the Tundra. All they are doing is producing enought hybrid cars so their CAFE averages stay in the acceptable range.

Honda doesn't need to pull this scam because they are incredibly fuel effecient across the board. At this point they don't make a V8 or any engine that is considered a gas guzzler so they don't have to rely on parlor tricks and slight of hand to keep their CAFE avarages in the acceptable range.

 

Gasoline engine is such an old technology, and probably the biggest scam of all time.

It's 2008 and we're still using gasoline engines, something's wrong with that.

 

i get 23-24 ish on my 08 santa fe. it ain't that bad.

 

People will always buy SUV's, I believe. Its something of a status symbol for some people I noticed. Today at a red light, there were two Hummer H3's in front of me and another H3 a few back. Are they giving those things away? All middle aged women driving them also, which I found strange.

 

I'm likely going to get an SUV for my next vehicle, but I'm pretty sure the resale value will not be as high as they're predicting it will be due to fuel price increases. It might be a good candidate to lease, because I don't want to be upside-down in a few years.

 

i would never drive a huge ass SUV, but a midsieze one i would buy just as long as it gets more than 20mpg on the highway.

 

the sooner the demise of the SUV...the better.

 

I just wish there were more wagons in the sub-$40K (CDN) club to choose from. There are even fewer to choose from if AWD is important. If you need space, your only choices are SUV's or vans, so you have to pick the lesser of two evils.

 

Csaba Csere had a pretty good article in the new C&D about how once "plug-in" hybrids get their shit together, horsepower and range will not be a problem for electric motors. It all comes down to the batteries and waiting for that breakthrough design...Im sure SUV will be on the road for years to come...

 

Most people do not "need" these outsize mommymobiles, which are heavier and more wasteful of fuel and materials than a car of comparable interior size. I don't attach much "prestige" to a Yukon or Escalade when they can buy a Cadillac or Mercedes sedan for the same amount of money, too.

I don't have any issue with people who have one pickup or SUV for towing, hauling, etc. more than 3x a year, but why does any family in an urban area like SoCal or the Bay Area need 2 to 5 of the damn things instead of cars?

 

And you guys seem to have it better than we do, from what I can tell. We lost the Legacy wagon 5MT and then the Legacy wagon all together.

 

how much do impreza's and A4 Avant's run in Canada?

 

i've been seeing alot of the flexfuel suvs on the road lately.

 

SUV's wll stay, people just don't care. people will complain but will stil fill the car up.

hybrids are a joke IMHO, the amount of resources and emissions to produce the battery is very very high, so it essentially negates any of the emission that it doesn't put out, bu your still paying for this vehicle. hybrids are a joke and somewhat a marketing scam.

i got out of an SUV into a car, i get 30mpg on the highway and average 23mpg, i'm happy with it. if i wanted more i would have bought a civic but then i wouldn't be driving what i have now.

ht it come down to is what the consumer wants. whatever they want they will get and then will bitch when gas is to high.

ok i'm done being grumpy...just my brutal

 

V-10 Ford Excursion FTW

 

The A4 Avant starts at $43,600. The Impreza was much cheaper, but there are no more impreza wagons, just hatchbacks. However, it's likely that we're going to end up with a new Forester XT which is based on the Impreza...

 

Big on wishing there were more wagons. I know it's not the cool thing to drive anymore, but I'd much prefer one over an SUV for a variety of reasons. There's certainly not a whole lot to choose from when your criteria includes a reasonable budget and a hatchback with much more room than say...a GTI or Mazda 3. We just need a large cargo area, dammit, not a truck.

I think SUVs will take a hit in resale over the next few years. There will always be those who will be neutral on environmental issues, and rich enough not to worry themselves over gas prices, so I can't see the SUV disappearing completely....But I can see the average family eventually having trouble justifying the cost of a vehicle with poor fuel economy when there are (hopefully) other alternatives out there that can still serve their needs.

 

People around here seem to like driving SUV's solely because they believe they are safer in the snow than anything else on the road, hence why when everyone else is going 40 down the highway they blow by doing 70, and further down the road are off the side of the road. Amazing how that works, ain't it? If you need hauling space, as much as it pains me to say this, get a Subaru, or if you have some dough to spend buy an Audi wagon, they are awesome cars.

 

We had to get a SUV because the arrival of our baby girl .... for those who have kids know how hard it's on your back when you have to buckle those child seats day in & day out ... not to mention the convenience of hauling big items ...

The RX-H is delieving about 25-29 MPG so far (depends who is driving it between me & wifey), so if we can keep it for at least 4 years, the gas consumption saving might be enough to offset the price diff. of getting this hybrid ....

 

the suv craze started due to the rise of the Jeep Cherokee??