[larrydallas]

My car history sort of mirrors how cheap energy has played out and ended...well sort of.

1995-my first car was a 1980 Buick Regal coupe with the 231 V6 about 18 mpg at best when gas was 99 cents.
1996-97 Cadillac Sedan DeVille 14 mpg nad gas was still 99 cents
97-current 92 Acura Legend 24 mpg
98-current 91 Toyota Celica GT 5 speed 28-30mpg
99-02 92 Nissan 240sx 5 speed 25 mpg
99-03 91 Toyota MR2 30 mpg
02-current Mitsu 3000GT 5 speed 26 mpg (driving like a grandpa)
03-current 91 Toyota MR2 28 mpg (same car as my first MR2..funny)
04-current 1973 VW Bug 22 mpg

These have for the most part been reasonable sized smaller cars and not econobox tin cans. Therefore I am not feeling this crisis where I had to sell my land yatch and buy a tin can and now I feel all depressed.

I changed jobs last summer so now I drive less that 25% of what I used to since 2000.

I have thought about enjoying the still atrificially low gas prices we pay by getting a gas hog.

I've always loved the Mercedes W126 chasis S class that was built from 1979-1991. There's a dealer that is selling a 91 560 SEL for about 10 grand in town. I've been tempted to trade the Celica and some $$$ for this just so I can own one for a year or two seeing as how it might be now or never. The car weighs 4800 pounds and has a 5.6 liter V8 that gets 12 mpg at best. It was the top of the line car Mercedes sold that year second only to the 560 SEC coupes that still fetch about 20 grand in great shape.

As far as SUVs go I've only loved the last gen Toyota Landcrusier that had the in-line 6 engine. I think they were made from 90-97. They get about 10-12 mpg.

I know that if you don't buy an SUV within the next 5 years you will never be able to buy one later on.

[k_semler]

Sure, I'll give you $400 for a 2005 Dodge Durango, with a clean title and NOT STOLEN. Must have less than 1000 original miles.

[medicvet]

Even before I ever learned about PO I HATED SUVS!!!!! But then again, I used to live in Ventura and Los Angeles, and would see ONE PERSON driving long distances in them, and it pissed me off. (yeah, I know, that anger management class never took. ) At the time it angered me because the emissions standards were lower, and someone who was poor driving the only car they could afford had to pass cali smog test, and when they couldn't, their car couldn't get tagged, so they would drive it cus it was all they could do, until it got ticketed and towed..and the SUV would keep on puttin along putting out more smog than the car that got towed ever did.
I have a political cartoon hangin on the fridge..it is worn and yellowed because it is a few years old, but it is hippie parents next to a vw minibus talking to their kids, and the title reads: "sex, drugs, and rock n' roll are okay, but don't let me EVER catch you driving an SUV!" :D

[jmacdaddio]

It's no surprise that rising fuel prices took the wind out of the SUV boom earlier this summer (along with GM and Ford's profit margins). $3 gas arrived earlier than even most doomers thought, and now it seems that many regular Americans comprehend the sheer lunacy of using an SUV as their only mode of transport (if only because they wince when pulling their credit cards from the pump after fueling). Sure, there will be tales of people driving up to Ford dealers in an Expedition and leaving in a Focus, but realistically the gas crunch will cause most people to choose something more practical when it comes time to lease a new vehicle.

The local papers run daily features on topics such as soccer moms consolidating errands and (gasp!) resorting to carpools. They also visit Toyota dealers where the Priuses and Corollas fly off the lot while the 4Runners hang around for a while. Most SUV owners who I know will just grin and bear it for now, and if prices get bad, they'll get Civics and park the SUV except for vacations and hauling cargo.

Now that the SUV craze is in its death throes, what's the next consequence of rising gas costs?

[ubercrap]

Cracking each other's skulls open and feasting on the goo inside? Seriously, though, I wonder what holiday spending will be like.

[GoIllini]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jmacdaddio', 'N')ow that the SUV craze is in its death throes, what's the next consequence of rising gas costs?

[TWilliam]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('GoIllini', 'I')t won't come for a while. Indeed, increasing efficiency will buy us 10-15 years of flat or decreasing energy consumption, as it did in the '70s and '80s.

[jdmartin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('GoIllini', 'I') think that some of the other costs of higher gas prices are going to play themselves out in bankruptcy court. I know that people get all frightened and freaked out about the new bankruptcy bill, but it isn't that scary. All it says is that people making lots of money have to go through Chapter 13 Bankruptcy rather than Chapter 7. Chapter 13's been around for a while, and it used to be that the judge got to decide if you could file for Chapter 7. Chapter 13 means that one is in bankruptcy for three to five years, rather than having them emerge immediately with no assets and no debt.

[lowem]

What's next? Ford & GM joining Delphi in bankruptcy.

On the NYT :

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('New York Times', 'M')any analysts believe it is only a matter of time before G.M. and Ford come to the same crossroads that Delphi has reached, with Toyota, Hyundai and other competitors continuing to lure more American consumers.

[savethehumans]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')eriously, though, I wonder what holiday spending will be like.

[something_awfull]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')ARIS — If the French marauders known as The Deflated waged their brand of urban subversion in Southern California, the mecca of the sport utility vehicle, by now they would probably have been jailed, beaten, shot or at least sued.
But five weeks after the clandestine crew of environmentalists launched a low-intensity war on SUVs in Paris, there are no casualties to report. Except, of course, for dozens of deflated gas-guzzling vehicles, said Sous-Adjudant Marrant (Sub-Warrant Officer Joker), the mysterious, masked leader of Les Dwgonfles.
(link)

[linlithgowoil]

i wish i could take advantage of some of the sales but my monthly income is swallowed up by exorbitant living costs and enormous debt repayments built up during university. i literally cannot increase my spending, even though i earn about 40% more than the national average. i dont understand how people can live comfortably in the UK anymore. i have a rented 2 bedroom modest home, 10 year old car, no holidays/air travel, no luxury spending to speak off and i am pretty much 'on the edge' every month for money. zero savings, enormous debt.

annoying...

[Specop_007]

They should come try that in Texas.

[EnergySpin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', 'T')hey should come try that in Texas.

[EnergySpin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('linlithgowoil', 'i') wish i could take advantage of some of the sales but my monthly income is swallowed up by exorbitant living costs and enormous debt repayments built up during university. i literally cannot increase my spending, even though i earn about 40% more than the national average. i dont understand how people can live comfortably in the UK anymore. i have a rented 2 bedroom modest home, 10 year old car, no holidays/air travel, no luxury spending to speak off and i am pretty much 'on the edge' every month for money. zero savings, enormous debt.

annoying...

[EnemyCombatant]

Too funny.
My husband yells at people who drives hummers. It's really embarrassing. He just bought a VW TDI and thinks he is the shit now.
But people who drive Hummers won't be affected even if gas is $10/gallon. I am sure these people will do what it takes to maintain their standard of living. And I am sure they don't care about their actions affecting the rest of us, otherwise they wouldn't have bought a hummer in the first place.
SUVs are a different thing. That's just middle class people looking for a status symbol. I don't think they should be attacked. I think just an ad campaign or bumper stickers to encourage/shame them to move to fuel efficient cars is enough. This just sounds like kids wanting to have fun.

[EnergySpin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('EnemyCombatant', 'M')y husband yells at people who drives hummers.

[Doly]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('linlithgowoil', ' ')i have a rented 2 bedroom modest home, 10 year old car, no holidays/air travel, no luxury spending to speak off and i am pretty much 'on the edge' every month for money. zero savings, enormous debt.

[jimmydean]

Yes SUV's are dead at least for the rest of this FY

I think even if GM reduced the price to below manufacter cost they wouldn't sell!

As we rush to buy more fuel efficient foreign cars I can't help but think about how quickly GM and F will head into Chapter 11 and the cascading effect on the economy.

[MrBill]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Doly', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('linlithgowoil', ' ')i have a rented 2 bedroom modest home, 10 year old car, no holidays/air travel, no luxury spending to speak off and i am pretty much 'on the edge' every month for money. zero savings, enormous debt.