KevinFromTexas
06-09-2008, 08:37 AM
This should be filed under "duh".
From the Austin American-Statesman
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/08/0608bigcars.html?imw=Y
SUVs out; scooters and bikes in
Big vehicle owners are often stuck with gas guzzlers
By Andrea Ball
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Three years ago, Austin diesel mechanic Pete Mendez bought a 1997, four-door Chevrolet Tahoe.
He and his wife, who have five children, used it constantly, driving it to work, school and the grocery store. They made spur-of-the-moment jaunts to San Antonio, Corpus Christi and the Hill Country.
Now, in the face of soaring fuel prices, Mendez is dying to unload his gigantic gas guzzler. The problem is that no one will buy it.
"I've gotten one call from my ad, and that was just someone who wanted to see pictures," said Mendez, 39. "I never heard back from him. He probably looked at the pictures and realized how big a Tahoe is."
Auto dealerships across the country are struggling to unload the once-beloved gas gobblers. Trade-ins bring paltry returns for owners. And as Mendez has discovered, trying to sell a sport-utility vehicle has become a frustrating proposition. He said that no offers came even after he dropped his asking price from $3,500 to $3,000 in his craigslist.com ad.
Last week, General Motors Corp. announced that last month's big vehicle sales plummeted 37 percent compared with May 2007. GM also announced plans to close four North American truck and SUV plants.
Meanwhile, about 36 percent of the people who tried to trade in a large SUV in May owed more than the vehicle was worth, according to the Power Information Network, a marketing information firm for the automotive industry. That's up from about 33 percent a year ago.
At Bill Chapman Auto Sales on Airport Boulevard — where customers are largely contractors or construction workers who need large vehicles — a growing number of drivers are trying to trade in their personal SUVs and trucks for something more fuel efficient, General Manager Mindy Wood said.
"They see those prices going up, and they know they just can't do it," she said.
Some customers have owned their vehicles for only a few months when they come looking for a trade-in, she said, and many want to take on a new car loan while still paying off the old one. Wood worries that those buyers are getting in over their heads.
"They're going to do whatever they can to get out of that vehicle," she said. "They're looking at today and not the future."
Mendez is lucky because his Tahoe is paid off. But because it gets 12 to 15 miles per gallon, he's spending $140 every 10 days to fill up its 28-gallon tank.
That's been enough to persuade the family to change its habits. The Mendezes cut back on road trips. They started doing their own oil changes. They thought twice before grabbing the keys for errands.
According to a poll last month by USA Today/Gallup, 70 percent of people surveyed said they are combining errands or cutting back on driving to save money. Thirty-two percent said they had shortened or canceled a vacation because of gas prices.
The shift away from gas guzzlers has been a boon to local scooter and bicycle dealers. Sales at Alien Scooters in South Austin were three times higher last month than they were in May 2007, owner Ann McSpadden said. University Cyclery owner Jim Fox said business has jumped 10 percent in the past six to eight months.
"They're wanting to drive less," he said. "As hot as it is here, they still want to get out and go."
Longtime cyclist Jonathan Cherry, a salesman for Freewheeling Bicycles, said he has seen a decrease in the sales of recreational bikes and an increase in commuter bikes. People are dusting off their bicycles and transforming them into road bikes with new tires and other equipment, he said.
Eight months ago, Cherry said, he started riding his bicycle more than seven miles to work every day.
"Gas prices kind of put me over the top to get into it," he said.
Mendez said he rides his motorcycle to work and leaves the Tahoe at home for his wife. He would like a car big enough for the whole family, he said, but may settle for a station wagon or sedan. That kind of vehicle will hold only his wife and three young daughters, he said, so his teenage boys may have to find another place to sit.
"The trunk's big enough," he joked. "We'd have to probably put AC in there, but that's no problem."
From the Austin American-Statesman
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/08/0608bigcars.html?imw=Y
SUVs out; scooters and bikes in
Big vehicle owners are often stuck with gas guzzlers
By Andrea Ball
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Three years ago, Austin diesel mechanic Pete Mendez bought a 1997, four-door Chevrolet Tahoe.
He and his wife, who have five children, used it constantly, driving it to work, school and the grocery store. They made spur-of-the-moment jaunts to San Antonio, Corpus Christi and the Hill Country.
Now, in the face of soaring fuel prices, Mendez is dying to unload his gigantic gas guzzler. The problem is that no one will buy it.
"I've gotten one call from my ad, and that was just someone who wanted to see pictures," said Mendez, 39. "I never heard back from him. He probably looked at the pictures and realized how big a Tahoe is."
Auto dealerships across the country are struggling to unload the once-beloved gas gobblers. Trade-ins bring paltry returns for owners. And as Mendez has discovered, trying to sell a sport-utility vehicle has become a frustrating proposition. He said that no offers came even after he dropped his asking price from $3,500 to $3,000 in his craigslist.com ad.
Last week, General Motors Corp. announced that last month's big vehicle sales plummeted 37 percent compared with May 2007. GM also announced plans to close four North American truck and SUV plants.
Meanwhile, about 36 percent of the people who tried to trade in a large SUV in May owed more than the vehicle was worth, according to the Power Information Network, a marketing information firm for the automotive industry. That's up from about 33 percent a year ago.
At Bill Chapman Auto Sales on Airport Boulevard — where customers are largely contractors or construction workers who need large vehicles — a growing number of drivers are trying to trade in their personal SUVs and trucks for something more fuel efficient, General Manager Mindy Wood said.
"They see those prices going up, and they know they just can't do it," she said.
Some customers have owned their vehicles for only a few months when they come looking for a trade-in, she said, and many want to take on a new car loan while still paying off the old one. Wood worries that those buyers are getting in over their heads.
"They're going to do whatever they can to get out of that vehicle," she said. "They're looking at today and not the future."
Mendez is lucky because his Tahoe is paid off. But because it gets 12 to 15 miles per gallon, he's spending $140 every 10 days to fill up its 28-gallon tank.
That's been enough to persuade the family to change its habits. The Mendezes cut back on road trips. They started doing their own oil changes. They thought twice before grabbing the keys for errands.
According to a poll last month by USA Today/Gallup, 70 percent of people surveyed said they are combining errands or cutting back on driving to save money. Thirty-two percent said they had shortened or canceled a vacation because of gas prices.
The shift away from gas guzzlers has been a boon to local scooter and bicycle dealers. Sales at Alien Scooters in South Austin were three times higher last month than they were in May 2007, owner Ann McSpadden said. University Cyclery owner Jim Fox said business has jumped 10 percent in the past six to eight months.
"They're wanting to drive less," he said. "As hot as it is here, they still want to get out and go."
Longtime cyclist Jonathan Cherry, a salesman for Freewheeling Bicycles, said he has seen a decrease in the sales of recreational bikes and an increase in commuter bikes. People are dusting off their bicycles and transforming them into road bikes with new tires and other equipment, he said.
Eight months ago, Cherry said, he started riding his bicycle more than seven miles to work every day.
"Gas prices kind of put me over the top to get into it," he said.
Mendez said he rides his motorcycle to work and leaves the Tahoe at home for his wife. He would like a car big enough for the whole family, he said, but may settle for a station wagon or sedan. That kind of vehicle will hold only his wife and three young daughters, he said, so his teenage boys may have to find another place to sit.
"The trunk's big enough," he joked. "We'd have to probably put AC in there, but that's no problem."
