Faced with the startling reality that $4-per-gallon gasoline can no longer be considered a distant threat, new car buyers might be expected to turn to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. Recent sales figures, however, suggest the American love affair with sport utility vehicles has not abated. What's more, sales of highly efficient sedans -- such as the Toyota Prius hybrid -- have slacked off to the point that Toyota is offering incentives on the Prius. Sales of large SUVs actually rose nearly 6 percent in the first quarter of 2007, and in April were up 25 percent from last year. GMC's Yukon XL saw sales rise 72 percent in April compared with a year earlier while its cousin, the Chevrolet Suburban, saw sales rise 38 percent for the same period. Apparently, having to spend more than $100 to fill the tanks on these icons of SUV excess isn't that much of a worry for many folks. What's driving these sales? It's a multipart answer largely rooted in consumers seeking value. Many American buyers have lifestyles that, rightly or wrongly, often demand vehicles that can carry five or more people as well as their gear. A household accustomed to having an SUV that has downsized to a sedan will, at some point, be faced with how to get something large home from a shopping trip. Also, the big SUVs of today are more fuel-efficient than those of only a few years ago, thanks to technological innovations such as cylinder deactivation that can, at times, make a V8 sip gas like a V6. More importantly, dealerships that sell Ford, GM and Dodge vehicles are hungry for sales because they don't have as wide a selection of sedans as their Japanese counterparts. As a result, a combination of factory rebates, incentives and dealer discounts can knock as much as $10,000 off the sticker of a $50,000 SUV. That's prompted some buyers to reason that even with gas at $4 per gallon, a $10,000 discount could go a long way toward easing the fuel bill.  | | This week | | | |
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