Cars Hurt Most by $4 Gas

you have a point

Thanks for some good points, but it is interesting that you make assumptions about social classes. I have a masters degree in English lit and my income puts me past the $100,000 mark. Let's not jump to the tired environmentalists vs. blue collar, as you did, not me. The real clash is environmentalists vs. the economy. That's where the struggle lies. Drilling needs to happen and new fuel needs to happen. =Friction. I agree that status vehicles are the height of stupidity and always have been. But to twist what unioned autoworkers have done to the big 3 is just crazy spin. Flip your statement around to the truth. It was the thousands of unionized auto workers who hurt the industry. Do you think that Toyota would ever give to their workers what the big 3 have been forced to give? Go to Tennessee and see for yourself. Back to vehicles: You are obviously feeling morally superior for driving a little fuel-efficient car. That's the problem. When I am driving a truck around, I am not the bad guy. I can't change how much gas I use and don't think that it's my burden at all.

c.wiseman of NY @ Jun 19, 2008 10:58:19 AM

Calm Down and Think Before You Write

I think it would be accurate to say that accusing all those who buy smaller more fuel efficient cars tree huggers makes about as much sense as calling all who drive bigger SUVs and pickup trucks gas guzzling pigs. There are many in the US who need larger and often times less fuel efficient vehicles to get their work done. Thats an unavoidable fact of life. However, there are also many in this country who drive over sized vehicles not because their work requires it but because of the status which is implied and a host of other reasons. It is somewhat non-sensical to accuse environmentalists of trying to bring down America or put American auto workers out of work. A number of criticisms have been directed at the big 3 because in comparison to other automakers they not only appeared to be unwilling to make more fuel efficient vehicles until very recently but also seemed to be going out of their way to prevent possible vehicles from coming to the market. The innovation and pioneering nature of the big 3 seems to have been surpassed to the detriment of thousands of autoworkers here in America. That doesn't mean that such criticisms and accusations are correct but it is the perception. This isn't about environmentalists versus blue collar workers. Its about what is the best and most efficient way to power our country and also the world. As long as we are dependent on oil (foreign or domestic) we are vulnerable to fuel fluctuations and the repercussions of the global market. So everyone calm down, think before you write and stop trying to turn a simple article into a showdown of perceived social classes.

W. Brown of IL @ Jun 19, 2008 10:14:47 AM

sometimes there is no choice

I agree with William Calvert in his comment entitled "autos." Not everyone who owns large vehicles is a gas-guzzling pig. Do you tell athletes who must consume 5000 calories a day that they are gluttonous over-eaters? We have pick-ups, dump trucks and backhoes for work that must get done on properties that employ us. It's how we live, sun-up to sun-down. The tree huggers who are paying us to do the work can ponder which economical car is better for their needs, but we have to fill the tanks on the vehicles that get the job done. We love our Fords and like it or not, through us and our work, so do the hybrid buyers.

C.Wiseman of NY @ Jun 19, 2008 09:42:31 AM

Autos

I do not plan to change my driving habits. For the past ten years I have traveled in Europe and the UK and their gas prices have been much higher than ours. The fact that Bill Clinton and Democratic congress had signed into laws which forbid leasing and drilling off shore has increased our dependance on foreign oil has escaped the main line news media.

Also, the tree huggers think that everything is very simplistic. If you live on a farm, as I do, and need a full size pickup truck to haul grain wagons to market, then you would change your feelings about getting hybrid cars and super economical cars. Maybe if the farmers went a season with out producing food for the tree hggers, they would see the value of what the "gas gussler farmers" do for the good of the county.

William Calvert of OH @ Jun 15, 2008 16:08:35 PM

Boy, articles about high gas prices sure are popular these days...

I absolutely agree with tashgu

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080613/AUTO01/806130322/1148 - Chrysler cut first quarter ad spending 42%... I wonder if that contributed to the 19% drop in sales?

In April, Jeep announced they were cancelling the Commander next summer... I wonder if that contributed to the 48% drop in sales? Why did sales of the Grand Cherokee, which gets the same 13 city mpg, drop only 26%, not 48%?

Dodge Ram is about to be replaced by a new model... I wonder if that contributed to the 27% drop in sales?

I have no doubt that $4 gas hurt the sales of certain vehicles, but there is no mention of other reasons sales may be down. I hope I'm wrong, but these reasons appear to have been ignored or overlooked in order to quickly draw a single simplistic conclusion and write another hype article about the high price of gas. The amazing thing about this article is that not only does it hit on the high price of gas, but many other media favorites. The messages and their audiences are clear- To environmentalists: "Hummer is going extinct," and "Chryslers are gas hogs." To Big3 haters: "Chrysler is going down in flames" and "GM is not far behind." To Big3 fans: "Even Toyota and Nissan have gas hogs." Well done.

Poorly Drawn Conclusion of OH @ Jun 15, 2008 14:31:51 PM

Toyota Avalon

Avalon is a car to have if anyone wants space, luxury, and MPG, which is 22, 31 on the newer models I own an 07 and on the highway i have gotten 31.1MPG, so Avalon cannot be an issue, the city MPG is around 19 -22, so Mr. Newman, you might want to do more research on that car before you say things.

of NJ @ Jun 15, 2008 11:51:25 AM

Not all large car sales are down as the story suggests, Ford's new Taurus has shown a sales increase of 1.5 % for the year and sales were up 66.9 % for the month of May compared to last year. People are getting the message of Fords' new advertising campaign.

Ford. Drive one.

Scott of NY @ Jun 15, 2008 11:00:31 AM

Bravo to the writer who suggested we Americans are just spoiled with big, bulky, showy cars (Chevy Suburbans, Hummers, Ford Expeditions). WE DON'T NEED THEM. I've owned a first generation Prius (the small compact one) for 5 years & I've gotten kudos for its nice looks, its comfort & its quality both inside & out, to say nothing of lots of envious comments for its marvelous mpg (between 44 & 48) all along. I'm no rocket scientist, but the handwriting was on the wall even then regarding an upward trend in oil & gas prices & I was able to read !

Maybe we should devise a method of charging people more for gas if they insist on owning gas guzzling monsters & less if they try to downsize, conserve & get with the 30+ mpg program... And PLEASE, people had children years before automakers came up with these enormous "family vans" & SUVs, so don't try to make a case for people NEEDING them !

maxal of MA @ Jun 14, 2008 23:46:12 PM