Fuel Economy Now Selling

Not all smaller cars have enjoyed similar results—at least, not yet. Recent Corolla/Matrix sales are up, yet fewer cars were sold in the first five months of 2008 than during the same period a year earlier. Chevrolet Cobalt sales are up 17 percent for the opening five months of 2008, but the smaller Aveo gained only slightly—though sales in the month of May took a healthy jump compared to the prior year.

Good Luck, Truck
Shocking is the word for shrinkage in big-truck sales. Chevrolet's full-size Tahoe, for example, fell 30 percent for the first five months of 2008, and the figure for May is gloomier yet. The mammoth Suburban has sunk even further, down nearly one-third for the first five months of this year.


Full-size models aren't the only ones affected. Both the midsize Ford Explorer and the big Expedition have fallen sharply. Toyota's Tundra pickup has sagged enough to cause the company to curtail production. Ford, meanwhile, delayed the launch of its redesigned F-150 pickup because so many prior-generation trucks still sat on dealer lots.


Chevrolet and GMC are enjoying at least modest interest in the Dual-Mode Hybrid renditions of their full-size SUVs, because of the fuel-economy difference. A regular Tahoe with the 5.3-liter V-8 gets a combined (55-percent city/45-percent highway) EPA estimate of 16 mpg highway. The Tahoe Hybrid, in contrast, earns a combined estimate of 21 mpg–a 31 percent improvement. In city driving, the difference is greater yet: 21 mpg versus 14 mpg. For, say, 15,000 miles of typical driving in a year, taking a Hybrid could save 222 gallons of gasoline.

Residual Values
A comparable "going small" phenomenon has struck the used-car market. Ricky Beggs, editorial director of the Black Book, a wholesale price guide consulted by used car dealers, says pickups began to sink around April 2008. Big SUVs started falling earlier, but "haven't been as drastic." Late-model diesel-engine pickups dropped at least 20 percent in value between February and June. Although "part of this may be a knee-jerk reaction to the price of fuel," Beggs sees nothing to indicate a slowdown. Small cars, in contrast, "either held their value or [are] going up." Year-old Civics and Priuses have actually increased significantly in value, rather than following the usual depreciation patterns.