I think they will decrease in sales and almost considered getting a car when I got my tahoe but I love tahoes and I love the space they provide...so I am with you a broke suv owner....Stacy

I don't think so. I look around my town and am amazed at all of the SUV's, especially the bigs ones - Excursions, Suburbans, Hummers - some with new plates. At this point, I wouldn't go out and buy a big SUV but I already have an Explorer and I love it and the room it provides. I hate the gas mileage though but will live with it.

I'm thinking very seriously of buying a mid-size SUV sometime this year. I'm hoping that they will run some sales on new ones maybe around July/August. Thank goodness I don't have to commute to work far; I only put about 5,500 miles on my car in a year. And I will only buy a 6 cylinder (I have a 4 cyl Camry now) so that should help somewhat. It's really horrible about the gas prices and it looks like we won't have relief for a long time!

~Susan

I think it's very hard for people to downsize so it will take quite a lot to get SUV owners to stop buying them. Those who never owned one (me!) will probably not be as tempted to buy one now so I do think sales will decrease but they won't disappear.

I look for more smaller and more fuel efficient SUVs to be manufactured, giving the consumer more choices between the two.

Sue

I am also a SUV owner and love it. The car we had before we bought our Explorer had the same size motor that the EX. does. So no better fuel mileage with the car. Plus our EX. runs on E-85..and I'll bet that many of the newer SUVs will also have that option.

I also find that getting in and out of a car is kinda hard on the lower back. I am tall(er)and heavier, so sliding in and out of an SUV is heaven compared to having to practically fall in and having to push yourself up to get out!

Although I gotta admit I would love to have a 'pink' bug!!!

deamn,

I've always wanted a red bug, so I could paint big black dots on it to look like a Lady Bug.

Gayle

I am a happy/broke Explorer owner as well....mine is a 2000 model and I get about 19 MPG nearly anywhere I drive! I have 100,000 miles on mine and DH wants to replace it with a Trailblazer so that we can get a few more mpg. I don't care what I drive as long as it seats myself and 3 kid seats for grandkids, and has space in the back for my "good stuff"(DH and their parents are on their own!! :^)

I own a Mitsubishi Endeavor which isn't very good on gas... but I wouldn't downsize. I just run all my errands in one day and we don't take those aimless Sunday drives anymore.

I think they'll just come up with more fuel-saving ones in the future. I don't think people will quit buying them.

I was just starting to consider a smaller SUV but now I think I may go with a van again for a little better gas mileage.

I really dont want to get rid of my escalade ...best vehicle I ever had.love it.

I went through this in the 70's when the gas prices skyrocketed. At least this time, they know how to make decent small cars. I have a man who's a used car salesman, and he says they would be overrun with SUV's, except that all the dealers decided to only offer very low prices on tradeins, so people aren't trading them in, and they can't sell them, so they're stuck with them. He says when they do get one, it sits on the lot forever.

We CAN'T get a small car!

My family ranges in size from 5'11" to 6'8"... we just don't fit in something small.

I only spend around $75 on gas per month... so big works well with me!

We have a '99 model Nissan Pathfinder - love the vehicle but it's very "thirsty" and the fuel cosumption is pathetic. It costs around a $100 to fill and no doubt, it will get more and more as the fuel prices continue to rise. We would like to get rid of it, but partly due to fuel, the prices for these has dropped considerably and we would get diddly squat for it - either selling privately or as a trade-in. So we have decided to hang on to it for a long as possible and are using our Toyota Camry mostly.

Hi cheryl down under,

Are vehicle prices lower ...

... down there?

How about houses?

How do you keep 'em from falling off of this big ole round world?

ole joyful

Well, from the messages above, and from what I've seen around here, SUV owners would rather pay $$$ than give up their cars.

I like my Tahoe - I just don't drive it any further than necessary.

We have 5 vehicles in our family - 4 of them are SUV's, 1 is a sedan and we do love them. My kids own a Tahoe, a Trailblazer and a 3 day old RAV 4 and I have a Lexus SUV. We have a place in the PA mountains and there are times that we need an SUV just to get up the steep driveway.

Our salesman told us that the manufacturers will be making more hybrid SUV's in an attempt to increase mileage. The new Tahoe is available as a hybrid and it gets 21/22 mpg. However you can get a Tahoe as low as $40,000 but the hybrid will cost at least 50,000. You can drive quite a few miles for that $10,000 price difference.

The Toyota RAV 4 that my daughter picked up this week gets 19/27 mpg which is best in class for a small non hybrid SUV. Toyota is now working on a hybrid version of the RAV.

So it will be nice to see more options available.

I don't think gas prices are high enough to make a severe enough for us to economize yet.
I too love my SUV, the space and safety I feel it provides.
Though really could use the extra money IÂm putting in the gas tank for better things.
I feel like IÂm lining the pockets of the oil company.
It will always cost a lot for fuel, but my next vehicle purchase will be more economical.

Hi Ole Joyful - in answer to your question about new car prices here, a new basic model Nissan Pathfinder costs around AU$48,000 or CA$45,500 - that's without the compulsory additional AU$3,000-$4,000 for dealer delivery, rego, ins etc. We would love a Rav4, but those prices start at around AU$39,500 or CA$37,5000 - way too much for our budget at present. Cars are great to have - makes life so much easier - but they are expensive to get, expensive to keep and you loose out when you get rid of them - ouch!!!
As for our houses, I live in Maitland which is around 2 hours drive north of Sydney, and the price for an average 4 bedroom house is around AU$435,000 or CA$415,000. Don't know how that compares with prices over there, but housing prices these days are getting more and more out of the reach of the average worker.
And how do we keep our houses from "falling off" - well, I have it on good authority that it's all done with magnets - lol!!!!!

We have an SUV and a small pickup truck, both Toyotas, 4Runner and Tacoma. I wouldn't give up either one of them, where we live we pretty much have to have 4WD. Both vehicles get about the same gas mileage and both vehicles hold a lot, which is good because when we go to town, we do all our errands and pretty much fill the vehicle up with corn feed, food, bags of stuff. And when we drive to vacation, same thing, luggage, provisions, things we can't get at either location, and people.

I don't foresee ever having a small car again for my primary vehicle, but if I could ADD one, I would, for those little jaunts where I don't need a lot of space.

DH has a Honda Ridgeline truck,and i have a Hyundai Sonata.I take my car any time i have to go somewhere,but i try to bundle my errands and not go out more than twice a week.Besides if i stay home i don't spen so much,then again i'm not now or have i ever been an impulse buyer.I always ask myself if it a want or need!! If it's a want i don't buy it.

DH is the exact Opposite,unfortunately!!
Kathi

We have a Lexus SUV and a pickup...we live in the country and have to have a 4X4 and preferably a pickup...The Lexus isn't a large SUV...and my husband is a big guy.........200pounds...He doesn't fit well in small cars.

No way would I get a car! I'm a die hard jeep fan. I love my 98 cherokee. In fact my summer project will be getting it running smoothly and looking nice.
My mileage isn't too bad for an SUV, about 18-20 mpg, so I'm not complaining. I would like to get a hybrid next time I get a new car. The only problem with that is it wont be a jeep, unless jeep decides to finally follow the trend. which I doubt. And I won't be able to fix it myself. I'm slowly learning to the small stuff on my own. **patting my back**

We discussed this yesterday.
I dearly love my 98 Explorer. We were looking at a slightly used Honda Fit to replace hubby's Accord with 175,000 miles on it (and broken ac).
I thought about trading in my Explorer and my keeping the Accord, but the Explorer suits my lifestyle and holds all my horse stuff with 4 seats to spare.
Now we don't know what to do. I told him he might as well put a plastic top on his motorcycle as drive that Fit - but oh the gas milege is great and it is a nice driving little 4 door car.
The 4WD Diesel truck sits a lot these days. I need it to pull the horse trailer.
Kathy

I will down size on my next vehicle, right now I have a MPV, that's getting about 16 miles in town, and about 19 HWY. 98% of my driving is a few miles here and there.
I want something that gets in the high 20's for town MPG.

But I probably won't be getting anything "new" for atleast a year. We just made the last payment on the van this month..I'd like to have that 365/mo in the savings account..or atleast half of it! The other half will go to pay down the Jetta my husband drives.

and as far as those that say they "can't" fit big people in the cars.. My husband is 6' and 250..He loves his "little" car. He and the 3 boys fit fine in it. And it has a huge trunk.

"and as far as those that say they "can't" fit big people in the cars.. My husband is 6' and 250..He loves his "little" car."

Try fitting a 6'8" boy in the back of a small car... it just doesn't work, especially when the front seats are all the way back for the tall people sitting there.

Not a chance.

We have a Rav 4 and it has been PERFECT for getting in and out of for my back. It's only a 4 cylinder and DH says we have to get a new car or buy new tires. He has not been happy with the gas millage either and wants us to get a 6 cylinder.

It is not as big as the other SUVs we've had but it has been adequate for everything we have had to carry. It rides a little rough which I didn't mind until I had surgery. Ouch.

I don't know what to get next

Back to the original question of this post:

It is my opinion that large SUVs will decline in sales, but will not dissapear for the reasons given in the posts above. Today, GM annoucned that 750 of their employees (at the Janesville, WI, plant) will be loosing their jobs at the end of June. The 2 shifts of the SUV and truck line will be reduced to one shift. Currently, production has been slowed on the 2-shift arrangement, but GM says they have excess capacity and must trim back to match demand. Currently, GM has a glut of SUVs and pickups on dealer's lots. In recent ads, GM dealers have been placing emphasis on selected Chevrolet models, the ones that produces the best fuel mileage in their product line-up.

Around here, people are beginning to moan about filling up their not-so-efficient vehicles, and these are not the middle class, but doctors and lawyers. The average guy is already coughing blood. I am seeing an increase in beat-up older Saturns sedans being pressed into commuting service.

How will this play end? Who knows? My take is the big SUVs will decline with smaller, more fuel efficient SUVs taking over some of the sales. Five years from now, it is only a guess who will be yet making big SUVs. It may not be GM. So, who will drop out, or be forced to drop out? iIs a crap shoot. Even Toyota is seeing reduced sales of their largest vehicles.

Projections have been advanced that 5 years down the road, we will see a shift in Suburbia and commuting - it will loose popularity. The time is comming when the average working joe can not afford to spend so much of his time working for his car. Small town downtowns may come back with the demise of "big box" mall stores. If crime can be contained in the inner cities and the bullies and gangs chased out, the cities will revive as a living centers. This same crew making these projections also think that the 'real' crunch will begin about year 2012, and that is not far away.

My opinion: This change will come as shock to the US citizen. It will not be taken lightly.

Sales are declining and manufacturing shifts are being laid off as of today, per news and jemdandy.

Hate SUVs, always have. I'd have one if I lived in the snow and/or off dirt road, or needed one occasionally to haul a boat or RV. But as I do not, no reason to have one. Big families can fit in a minivan.

DH and I have two hybrids and love them. Filling up each twice a month at $35 (@$3.50/gal) a pop makes one a quick convert.

The thing is, you all may "need" your comfort, but you get it at great expense to all of us. Fuel is finite, and every time you fill up your SUVs, it makes it more expensive for all of us to fill our cars. There is nothing small about Toyota Corollas or Honda Accords, and they get 35 to 40 MPG. I have a big family that is also large size, and we fit fine.

There is nothing good about being laid off because of declining sales, either. I could never understand why GM and Ford still make the guzzlers, but I guess it's because you can afford to fill 'em up. Personally, I can afford it, but I value Earth too much. And I don't think filling the dumps with SUVs that still work is the answer, either. Oh, well.

I heard that GM is reducing the number of SUV's they manufacture. I do love my Blazer though!