20th Dec 2010, 12:02
"When gas exceeds $4 per gallon next summer, which it surely will now that we have Republican control again, we'll see the full sized trucks sit and rot on dealer lots once again like they did in 2008"
A good point, because, yes, the Republicans will allow big businesses to run wild as they did under W. The common man will be fleeced to pay for the yachts and private jets of the Republican base. However, the fact is that newer full-size trucks get nearly the same fuel mileage with the smaller engines as the compact trucks did, and can be bought for close to what the small trucks could be bought for. That is really the rationale for dropping the smaller trucks. A V-6 F-150 gets about the same mileage as the now-defunct V-6 Ranger did. Even though I have absolutely no practical need for a big truck (I have owned 4 Rangers), if I were buying a new truck now, I too would opt for a base V-6 F-150 over the less reliable and just as fuel hungry small imported trucks, now that the Ranger is no longer made.
20th Dec 2010, 11:33
I'm a lifelong Toyota fan... but I don't agree with you that the domestic automakers are necessarily going for larger, less economical vehicles. GM has the Cruze, which gets 42MPG for the manual transmission model. Ford has the Fiesta, which has been sold in Europe for decades. It too gets around 40MPG. Both cars are selling well. GM also introduced the Volt. It's the only car of its kind on the road. It's about the most fuel efficient car you can buy. I've owned a smaller Tacoma for 15 years. The truck has been flawless and I'll probably buy another. But last time I looked at maybe getting a larger V6 version of the Tacoma, the fuel economy rating was disappointing: as in 15-18MPG, which is ridiculous considering some V8 model trucks are now getting better than 20MPG.
Americans still love their giant trucks and SUVs. But if fuel prices rise, I believe GM and Ford to be well-positioned.