Gas Guzzlers Still A Hot Commodity
Gas prices are up, but that isn’t stopping people from buying pick-up trucks and sport utility vehicles.
So what if that Ford F-150 extended cab pickup truck gets just 19 miles to the gallon on the highway and 15 in the city? It’s still the most popular truck on the lot at Gus Johnson Ford, said salesman Jim Lyle.
He said customers who need a truck for work or want one for hauling or towing usually don’t worry about gas mileage when they select a vehicle.
Others just want an SUV or truck, even if they only use it to drive to work or the grocery store. They’ll buy one regardless of how many miles it gets to the gallon or how much that gallon of gas costs.
“It’s too new right now for us to see anything,” said Lyle of customer response to the country’s rising gasoline prices. “When prices stay up for a while we might.”
But changing consumer preferences for larger vehicles, which often get between 13 and 20 miles to the gallon in the city compared with 25-35 mpg for compact cars, may take more than a few months of $1.50-plus gas prices.
According to a Gallup Poll conducted late last year, 42 percent of potential car buyers surveyed said they were considering purchasing an SUV or a truck.
At the Land Rover center at Liberty Lake, gas mileage isn’t much of a consideration, either, said manager Mike Morgan. For those who want a Land Rover and can afford one - they list for $34,150 to $67,000 - high fuel costs aren’t an issue. The high-end Range Rover gets 12 mpg in the city, 15 on the highway.
Coeur d’Alene Honda owner Kathleen Sims said she has seen increased interest in smaller vehicles. She said there has been a lot of interest in the Honda Insight, due on the lot this month.
The Insight, a gas/electric hybrid car, gets 70 mpg. It costs about $20,000.
“We’ve gotten a lot more calls about it than we had expected,” said Sims, adding she has now started a waiting list.
At other lots, dealers say gas mileage is important, but not the primary issue for most buyers.
George Gee, owner of George Gee Pontiac/GMC Truck, said fuel economy has always been important to customers. The price of gas, however, isn’t as critical now as it was during the 1970s gas crisis because today’s vehicles - even large cars - are more fuel efficient.
“Our new Bonneville,” Gee said, “that’s a full-size car that gets over 30 miles to the gallon.”
He added, however, that the rising price of fuel has spurred some older car owners to reconsider keeping gas-guzzling vehicles.
“People are a lot more cognizant of fuel economy,” he said, “and what it has done is bring a lot of people into the market.”
Salespeople at Knudtsen Chevrolet have been witnessing the same phenomenon. Company president Eve Knudtsen Benedict said consumer confidence in the economy means few worries about gas prices.
“That’s been the interesting thing,” she said. “We haven’t really noticed a change in our traffic, or the spending or buying habits of our customers.