Not everyone is rushing to buy a new hybrid. An MSNBC.com article SUV models like the SRX and the Cadillac Escalade are still in demand by consumers that appear more concerned with the type of vehicle they buy then the gas mileage it gets.
With all the histrionics about rising gas prices coming out of Washington these days, SUVs must be an endangered species in our nation's capital, right? Well, not exactly. At Capitol Cadillac, just inside the Beltway, SUVs are flying off the lot. Last week, former White House chief of staff Andy Card dropped by to pick up a new SRX, Caddy's midsize SUV, says dealer Daniel Jobe. But Jobe's hottest seller, by far, is the newly redesigned chrome-encrusted Cadillac Escalade, an incredible hulk that gets 13mpg in the city. "My biggest problem is not gas prices," says Jobe, "it's getting enough of these trucks."
The article says manufacturers are also still making cars that guzzle gas despite the higher gas prices.
One in four new models today comes equipped with a gas-thirsty V-8 engine—which is unchanged from last summer, before gas prices spiked, according to new data from J.D. Power. And some of the best-selling rides on the road today are GM's trio of beefy new SUVs—the Chevy Tahoe, the GMC Yukon and that blingy 'Slade, which saw its sales surge 127 percent last month. Meanwhile, last year's "it" car, the hybrid, is becoming a harder sell. Sure, dealers are still selling out of the Prius, but sales of the Honda Accord hybrid plunged 69 percent last month and Ford had to resort to a zero percent financing deal to jump-start its Escape hybrid. For all their megawatt buzz, hybrids still account for just 1 percent of U.S. auto sales and are outsold by SUVs 23-1. "Not a lot of people are jumping up to pay $3,000 extra for a hybrid," says Memphis Toyota dealer Kent Ritchey. "For $3,000, you can buy a lot of gas."
It is good to see consumers still buying vehicles but it probably indicates that the demand for gas in the U.S. isn't going to be decreasing anytime soon. Not as long as people are still happily buying vehicles with gas mileage as bad as 13mpg.
