tennessean.com Amerikaner kaufen wieder große Autos

[the-noacks]

Die Ölpreise sinken in den USA, und die Menschen kaufen wieder große Autos, vielleicht doch ganz gut, dass smart nicht Kapazitäten aufbaut, die in 6 Monaten vielleicht nicht mehr gebraucht werden. Sie haben auch erkannt, dass man Jahre braucht um den Einstandspreis eines Prius wieder herauszuholen, der wird schließlich über Listenpreis verkauft.

 

 

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August 14, 2008

 

Truck, SUV dealers say big is in again

 

By G. CHAMBERS WILLIAMS III

Staff Writer

 

The recent drop in gasoline prices has fueled a revival in sales of pickup trucks and SUVs, auto dealers and analysts report. But the increased sales are partially attributable to big discounts — and not necessarily a return to old driving habits.

 

"Consumers' single-minded focus on small vehicles," which peaked in June and July after gasoline reached $4 a gallon, "is subsiding as gasoline prices drop," the automotive consumer Web site Edmunds.com reported.

 

Edmunds' data, which track consumer interest in each vehicle segment, show that "even interest in the popular hybrid segment is down 34 percent compared to June as gas prices have declined," according to the company.

 

The average price of gas in Nashville stood at $3.63 a gallon on Wednesday, down from the $4 level in mid-July.

 

"There's been a rush to small cars, but that doesn't necessarily mean the shift is permanent," said Edmunds CEO Jeremy Anwyl. "With the initial shock of high gas prices fading, consumers are returning to rationality and again viewing gas consumption as just one of many factors when considering their next vehicle.

 

And if gas prices continue to fall, "this trend could accelerate," he said.

 

The trend is evident in Middle Tennessee, where consumers are "now actually looking at our trucks and SUVs, where just a month ago they weren't even cracking a door on any of them," said Gary Beeler, general manager of Neil-Sandler Buick-Pontiac-GMC in Murfreesboro. The Murfreesboro area has some of the lowest gas prices at the pump in Middle Tennessee.

 

"We have noticed a big increase in people looking for SUVs and pickups, both new and used," he said. "But they are selling well because of the prices. A year ago, a year-old big diesel Ford pickup would have sold for $35,000; today it's $15,000 less."

 

Market proves 'elastic'

 

Even so, gas prices — which have fallen about 37 cents a gallon in Nashville from a month ago — have been the biggest factor in restoring consumer confidence and bringing buyers back to trucks and SUVs, Anwyl said.

 

"There is even more room for gas to drop," Anwyl said. "I wouldn't be shocked to see it get down closer to $3 a gallon. The thinking in the industry was that the shift to small cars was permanent, but we're seeing that the market is more elastic than that."

 

At Nashville's Jim Reed Chevrolet, sales manager Hal Ryan said: "SUVs are back."

 

"We thought all along that people were not going to stay out of trucks and SUVs for long," Ryan said. "But even when gas prices were higher, we were selling two SUVs to every car we sold."

 

Sales of big pickups are still off, but they're starting to come back, too, he said.

 

Fire sale clears glut

 

At Crown Ford in Nashville, almost the entire stock of used pickups and SUVs, which jammed the lot in June and July, have sold, sales manager Marty Horn said. "We just have one pickup and three SUVs left," he said.

 

The Ford Expedition full-size sport utility is selling well on the new and used lots, Horn said. "We can't keep the used ones in stock. People are waiting to get them."

 

Horn conceded that big markdowns helped move the glut of pickups and SUVs that Crown had accumulated during the spring and early summer. A lot of consumers had rushed to trade in those vehicles to get more-fuel-efficient ones.

 

"We had a fire sale, and everyone likes a bargain," Horn said. "We had one that was in our inventory for $24,000, and it sold for $16,000. We took a loss on it, but we decided we had to sell these vehicles and move on."

 

Huge incentives also are helping sell new pickups, including the Dodge Ram 1500 models at Gary Mathews Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep in Clarksville, Tenn.

 

General manager Mark Blick said some of the Ram trucks are selling for half of their sticker prices, with discounts and incentives totaling up to $13,000 on some models.

 

"People are finally waking up to see that the money they can save on a new truck can buy a lot of gasoline," Blick said. "We have some great bargains on the used car lot, too."

 

If gasoline were to fall to $2.99 a gallon, "the car business would explode," Crown Ford's Horn said.

 

"It's human nature," said George Peterson, president of the automotive consumer research firm AutoPacific. "If consumers believe they can afford the bigger vehicles, they will take them.

 

"People are going to be somewhat cautious until all of this stabilizes, but we're definitely seeing them going back to the larger models," the analyst said.

[ Diese Nachricht wurde editiert von the-noacks am 21.08.2008 um 16:35 Uhr ]

[schaefca]

Tach!

 

Tja, vielleicht liegt´s auch daran: US-Bürger werden immer dicker>>

 

 

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I love you all!

 

:-D

 

Für GV ohne Horst S.!*

 

*GV = Grevenbroich • Horst S. = Horst Schlimm, Schlamm, Schlämmer

 

[the-noacks]

in einem Artikel daneben stand, dass die Lebensmittelpreise teurer wurden und keine Senkung in Sicht ist, die tun was dagegen ;-)

 

 

[MadMike]

Sollte mich wundern, wenn es in den USA keine Automobil-Lobby gäbe, die solche Artikel lanciert und forciert. Die Ölkonzerne sind auch dran interessiert, dass keine Sparmobile gekauft werden. Ich mache mir da keine Sorgen: Auch bei denen geht der Spritpreis auf Dauer weiter nach oben.

Und was die Körperfülle angeht: Gerade für Dicke ist der Smart doch unschlagbar: viel Platz, bequemer Sitz und leichtes Ein- und Aussteigen. 8-)

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[Arancio_Borealis]

Quote:

Am 21.08.2008 um 20:36 Uhr hat MadMike geschrieben:.....Die Ölkonzerne sind auch dran interessiert, dass keine Sparmobile gekauft werden.......

 

Stimmt nicht. Was ist das bessere Geschaeftsmodell?

 

a) die Restmenge an vorhandenem Oel in hohen Mengen innerhalb kurzer Zeit ausverkaufen

b) die Restmenge an vorhandenem Oel in kleinen Mengen zu hohen Preisen ueber einen laengeren Zeitraum abzusetzen

 

Die 7+ Schwestern planen strategisch, ja eher dynastisch. Es ist jedem klar, das die Erdoelvorraete endlich sind. Also besser den Verbrauch reduzieren und die Preise hochtreiben, das hilft das Geschaeftsmodell noch ein paar Dekaden laenger aufrecht zuerhalten.

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cu Leif

 

[JannineBu]

Sehe ich ähnlich. Das Ziel wird sein, Öl für möglichst lange zu möglichst hohen Preisen zu verkaufen. Darum ist den Konzernen auch durchaus an der Peak Oil Diskussion gelegen, weil sich eine Verteuerung damit leicht rechtfertigen lässt. Was man hingegen vermeiden wird, sind Preise die so hoch sind, dass der Markt dauerhafte Alternativen findet oder wegen Rezessionen komplett einbricht. Bisher gelingt den Oligarchen diese Gratwanderung scheinbar ganz gut (zu unserem Nachteil, dummerweise).

 

JB