For years I have been asking people on my radio show the following question: "At what price per gallon of gasoline would you change the type of vehicle you drive?" And for years people have told me that, instead of trading in their SUVs and pickups, they would alter their lifestyle and budgets to accommodate driving their vehicles of choice. Well, this year there was a major shift in that response when gas hit $4.00 per gallon.
As a contributor for AOL Autos, I asked that they conduct a poll of AOL readers. Here is the poll as it appeared on AOL Autos the week of July 14th, 2008.
Over eighty thousand people responded in just two days. Although 81% of respondents said that high gas prices have changed how or what they drive, only 36% are actively seeking to buy a more fuel-efficient car. That means more people are changing how they drive rather than what they drive. This is probably due to the volatile economic climate. Consumers are holding on tightly to their dollars in anticipating that the worst is yet to come.
When gas prices hit $4.00 a gallon, SUV and pickup inventories started to rise across the car lots in the United States. So what are the automakers doing in response to this dilemma? Chrysler responded quickly with gas incentives by offering gas cards that locked in the price at $2.99 per gallon to customers who purchased a vehicle. Suzuki guaranteed free gas for the summer of 2008; Jeep offered a locked price of $2.99 per gallon on regular gas and diesel fuel (for their diesel powered Jeeps).
Furthermore, carmakers are making major changes in the way they do business. Ford has decided to trash plans for a big V8 engine for pickups and large rear wheel drive cars. Amid rumors of bankruptcy along with dwindling truck sales, GM is aggressively restructuring. They may be dropping the Hummer brand and decreasing truck production, as well as increasing hybrid production. Rick Wagoner, GM CEO, was quoted at a press conference recently: "GM is conducting a strategic view of the brand (Hummer) and is considering all options."
Well, it looks like "The customer is king." We the people are dictating to automakers exactly what we want through our wallets. Today's car buyers want more fuel-efficient vehicles. However, according to the poll at AOL Autos, more people are changing their driving habits rather than buying a new more efficient car. So car companies are scrambling at breakneck speed to make necessary changes to recapture the customer's dollar in order to survive.
Even Toyota's light truck and SUV inventories are stacking up on lots! This is unheard of! In response, Toyota is putting light trucks and SUVs on sale and retooling factories to build more fuel-efficient cars. They announced an increase in production of hybrids to one million annually within the next decade (double that of today's stats). Last week Toyota announced that it plans to modify its Highlander factory to produce the new hybrid model. Other automakers are also shutting down truck and SUV plants and redesigning them to accommodate building more fuel-efficient vehicles as well as hybrids.
Diesel power is staged to increase dramatically as well. I base this observation on the recent development of low sulfur diesel fuel and special diesel exhaust systems designed to dramatically reduce particulate matter (the black soot from diesel exhaust). Already very popular in Europe, it is predicted that there will be a major increase in diesel-powered vehicles in this country. Presently, oil companies are positioning themselves for increased profits in anticipation of this surge to diesel fuel. I plan to keep my eye on this one as it develops... you can count on that!
'Til next time...Keep Rollin'
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1. The high cost of gas has wrecked my life, i`m retired but cannot og fishing or anywhere anymore!
The corrupt commies in Washington , and I used to be a patriot , ( no longer ) make me realize I must move to mexico ~I`ll never buy a plastic electric motored fake , no power car ! but I`ll will buy a new Triumph bike !
Posted at 1:24AM on Oct 8th 2008 by Lionel Ripepe
2. Granted that the state of the economy is probably speeding up change in mentality of drivers (I mean c'mon, the fact that Toyota truck in particular, which tend to retain value and can be sold used at a premium, are rusting away in lots is definitely ridiculous) Fuel efficient cars are only delaying the inevitable.
In fact, in a lot of cases, these cars take up so much energy to produce, it can make driving a used car worthwhile. But then again, this is still just a temporary solution. There needs to be a major paradigm shift in how we go about transportation.
In the meantime, it's up to us as consumers to send a message to these companies that this isn't the answer. Given the economic crisis, many people are now selling their cars. An even better option would be to get it off of the road entirely. An excellent way to do this would be to consider donating a vehicle to charity. This way the donor can still potentially get excellent value for their car through a tax deduction, while helping out the environment and a worthy cause. There are some good basic starting tips for donating a car at http://www.giveusedcars.com
Posted at 2:29PM on Nov 13th 2008 by Robert C