SUV Sales Down Sharply

The Washington Post today reports a dramatic decline in sales of SUVs compared with 2004:

SUV Sales Down Sharply: "The sales spiral of the Ford Explorer demonstrates consumers' shifting tastes. It was once one of the nation's most popular vehicles, but Ford sold fewer than 12,000 last month, a 52 percent drop from November 2004...GM also felt the SUV crunch. In November, sales of the Chevrolet Suburban and Cadillac Escalade dropped 46 percent and 48 percent, respectively, from November 2004."

Evidently the spike in gas prices following Hurricane Katrina, against a backdrop of steadily increasing prices since 2000, has made consumers aware that a) $0.99 per gallon isn't coming back and b) unexpected shocks can send already high prices to unprecedented levels. Both of these factors are important: no doubt Katrina played a dominant role in depressing this year's sales -- after all, average US gas prices now are only about $0.20 higher than at this point last year -- but a decline in SUV sales was well under way by the time Katrina struck. In other words, I doubt this is merely a "panic" reaction that will give way to a rebound in SUV sales next year, certainly not in the large SUV segment. All I can say is, I'm sure glad I drive a Civic getting 35 mpg, and really glad I live close enough to bike or walk to school and the grocery store...