From today's WaPo:
Americans' love affair with 22-inch rims, eight cylinders and four-wheel drive wrapped in an 8,000-pound package is over. And the breakup is going to cost.
With $4-a-gallon gas coming between drivers and their very large vehicles, consumers are dropping their once-beloved rides, fast. But not fast enough, it seems. As the price of gas has gone up, the value of sport-utility vehicles has gone down.
(snip)
For those determined to swap their fuel-thirsty behemoths for gas-sipping subcompacts, the glut increasingly means taking a financial hit. In the worst cases, declining SUV values leave owners owing more money to the bank than their vehicle is worth.
The question they face is: Which is worse for the wallet -- the cost of gas or the money lost selling the vehicle?
SUVs remain one of the silliest fads ever seen on the road. There is a (small) class of people who need a big car and go off-road frequently (ranchers, some farmers, some construction/contractors). As the article notes, one in eight US drivers owned an SUV in 2002. Which is ridiculous. I'm not feeling any sympathy for any of those people stuck with these $30k to $40k behemoths, who are stuck filling them with $4 a gallon gas. I haven't been able to see down the road for years now (those SUVs have always been to damn big); karma is a bitch.
Posted by baltar at July 2, 2008 10:46 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Culture | Economics | Petty Rants | Pure Unadulterated Snark