America's Infatuation with SUVs Waning

While gasoline prices -- and sales for Toyota's Prius hybrid -- continue to climb, SUVs are becoming "white elephants"

1 minute read

May 9, 2005, 10:00 AM PDT

"The figures compiled by the auto industry research organizations are pointing this year at what is quickly becoming the white elephant of the industry -- that erstwhile favorite of the California shopping mall, the gas- sucking SUV, a highly profitable vehicle that was the darling of the 1990s but has now become the prime victim of $3-a-gallon gasoline. Sales of SUVs for the first three months of this year fell by nearly 15 percent from last year at this time, according to Ward's Automotive, a Michigan firm that studies the industry. Sales of Ford's Excursion and Expedition SUVs fell about 28 percent. At GM, sales of the big Chevrolet Suburban were down nearly 30 percent; the Tahoe, a slightly shorter Suburban, had a 22 percent drop."

Thanks to Michael Dudley

FULL STORY: America's Passion for Burly SUV Fizzles

Monday, May 9, 2005 in The San Francisco Chronicle

Transportation United States

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