The Future of the Gas-Guzzling SUV in the New Economy
As the NY Times reported, Chrysler and GM have been closing production facilities left and right across the country; the latest closures have all been SUV facilities. What does this mean for the future of this American icon?
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Domestically made autos will never disappear completely from our landscape - bailout packages or bankruptcy will see them through - but SUVs might become a thing of the past. The SUV platform has had quite a draw for many people - SUVs project safety and utilitarianism; unstoppable except by their fuel gauge. High gas prices this summer left many SUV owners feeling strapped and sales of new SUVs have plummeted.
The Status Quo
As American car manufacturers come to grips with the new economy, efficiency will come to the forefront, along with utility and the ability to use multiple fuel sources. Thus far, we have only been given the exact opposite:
- Ford famously makes a 73 MPG hatchback for European markets with no intention to introduce it to US markets. Why? Americans supposedly hate diesel engines.
- Most Flex Fuel Vehicles (that can take up to E85 or 85% ethanol) are only available in models with very large engines. E85 lowers mileage a bit, which isn’t a problem in efficient vehicles, but is almost crippling in inefficient ones.
- Hybrid engines are being put into SUV and truck models, not small cars.
- Electric cars and plug-in hybrids all but non-existent.
The New American Car
I could do the easy thing and point to Asian manufacturers and say, “copy them”, but I won’t. It is fully within Detroit’s reach to go back to the drawing board and to put together the New American Car.
- Big enough for families: modular folding seating has come a long way.
- Safe: reliable parts and construction.
- Efficient: 35 MPG doesn’t count as efficient.
- Flexible: hybrids are a must - if not plug-in, at least regenerative breaking.
- Fuel options: E85 and gas compatible or diesel and biodiesel compatible. Warrant them as such.
The Real Impact of Plant Closures
Layoffs and plant closures are never easy, but they always hit the hardest during the holiday season. My thoughts go out to those affected by the closures and hope that our new administration can bring a long-term viable production economy back to the US.
Image Credit: Franco Folini’s Flickr Photostream under a Creative Commons License
The real question is whether the American consumer is going to go back to gas guzzlers now that gas is so cheap again. I think the story of 2009 in the automotive industry is that light trucks and SUVs will be selling very well in a few months.
I hope that in 2009 the American consumer will have the money to buy new cars and that they recognize our powerlessness over gas prices, making them buy efficient cars so they don’t get caught with a $200 bill at the pump again.
I think in the future we’re going to see a lot more cars that look like the Pontiac Vibe, Ford Focus ZX5, Chevy HHR, etc, but possibly with hybrid or electric options (or maybe even diesel). That is, they’re SUV-like with the hatchback, fold-down seats and they’re a bit roomier than a sedan of equal size, but they’ll all get 40-50 mpg (they all get 32+ currently).
Personally, I’d like to see the manual transmission make a comeback. That’s all I like to drive. Of course, I live in a more rural area so I don’t have to worry about traffic jams (in which driving a manual is a workout). I have an ‘05 manual Pontiac Vibe and I’m able to get 43 mpg with common-sense driving.
When you have to share the freeways with an 80,000 lb. (40 tons)truck, it isn’t hard to justify the need for a large vehicle. If you become involved in any manner of an accident, the smaller guy is going to come out the looser. Speed limits are way too high for the 18 wheelers. However, lots of accidents are caused by dumb drivers of the smaller vehicle. It’s far too easy to acquire a drivers license, with inadequate training, in todays world. There are problems on both sides of the fence.
Thank you for your post. Quality, durable, efficent and big enough for a family but NOT huge: when will automakers - US and Foreign - figure this out???
I bought a small SUV in 07 because I needed the extra hauling capacity. I also needed it to be not much bigger than a sedan so it fit in my small urban driveway. I gave up my 35mpg+ small commuter car that no longer worked since I was now a Mom with a family and a small business owner. (My car was totaled out courtesy of a fender bender because it was so old it had no value.)
In the 14 years since we bought our last car, the MPG should have gone UP. It went down. (I couldnl’t even buy the same car and get the same MPG.) I can’t tell you how ANGRY I was not to have the option of a SMALL HYBRID SUV or Crossover. There was no such vehicle on the market - domestic or foreign.
My husband’s 92 Maxima sedan gets better MPG than my new Subaru Forrester. The Max has 225K miles on it. I hope it lasts until we can afford to get a hybrid sedan to replace it.
The size of a SUV gives the perception of safety - but it doesn’t work out in reality. State Farm and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia did a study to see if SUVs protected children more than cars; the answer is no.
http://stokes.chop.edu/publications/press/?ID=5
As Dudley pointed out, the drivers of smaller vehicles are most often the ones who are driving irresponsibly. I’ve worked with a number of truck drivers over the years and they all approach their job with a high measure of professionalism. After all, it is their work, their income and their profession. People take risks on their free time, not when they are on the clock.
Really, the equation is simple:
40 tons of truck * 60 miles per hour = danger
2 tons of car * 60 miles per hour = danger
2.5 tons of suv * 60 miles per hour = danger
I don’t think the SUV is dead. Well Americans are reorienting themselves to the family sedan there will always be a market for the size and utility value found in an SUV.
Who says 35 mpg doesn’t qualify as ‘efficient’? That seems pretty arbitrary especially considering the other qualities such a car might need.
You seem to lament the fact that hybrid drive trains are being developed for SUV’s and Trucks. Why? Seems to me if the American consumer desires such a vehicle then it may as well be ‘efficient’. Putting hybrid engines into small cars has been shown to be a)not as much of efficiency boost in terms of annual fuel usage and b)not a great enough annual fuel savings for the owner to justify its cost.
Flex Fuel is another problem. Everyone loves ‘flexibility’ but in this case it comes at the expense of efficiency. We’d be better off if we set a reasonable mandate for ethanol in mixture with gasoline (say E20). Vehicles could then be optimally tuned to maximize efficiency.