Gas-hog owners can't sell them

[dkf]

Sales of gas-guzzlers by dealerships shrinking, along with trade-in offers

By Rick Daysog
Advertiser Staff Writer

Tammy Fontanilla loves her red 2004 Dodge Ram pickup truck, but when gas prices began to soar last year, she felt she had no choice but to put it up for sale.

Problem is, there's little demand for a vehicle that gets 13 miles per gallon and costs nearly $100 to fill up.

"Nobody is buying gas-guzzlers," said Fontanilla, a Salt Lake resident.

"I can't even trade it in for what I owe because dealers are telling me that it would be on the lot for a long time."

Once the symbol of middle-class comfort, sales of used sport utility vehicles and full-sized trucks in Hawai'i are tanking as gasoline prices have risen above $4.20 a gallon, local car dealers said.

Despite a flood of attractive manufacturer incentives — such as zero-percent-down plans or low interest-rate loans — light truck sales are expected to drop by about 11.7 percent this year to about 29,000 vehicles, according to the Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association.

At the same time, used truck and SUV models are selling $3,000 to $5,000 below their blue-book value, local car dealers said.

For larger trucks, the discount is steeper. A Ford F-150 that sold for $17,000 last year might fetch $9,000 today, said Frank Caliri, owner of Franktheusedcarguy in Kailua.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080622/NEWS09/806220358&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

[whistle]

1. Convert them as Neil Young has done

[dkf]

5. What did he do to them?

[rox63]

6. He had his tour vehicles converted to run on biofuels n/t

[JNelson6563]

2. Recycle them.

:patriot:

[Deja Q]

3. No doubt they're a bunch of Libertarians, finding ways to blame everyone else for their own mistake?

Ever deal with a Lib? They're nuts and will, when asked a question, politically vet it to the point that Ayn Rand would have a multiple orgasm over it, and then parrot it back to you.

And they're the easiest to trap in their own beliefs (their frequent contradictions ROCK!)... and even then they will STILL try to spin things to get out of their own self-imposed trap.

It's otherwise funny to discuss things with them, but even the cultists in Jim Jones' camp had more freedom to think...

[no_hypocrisy]

4. Check this out. Ford is advertising in the NYC metropolitan area its trucks

at "employees'" discounts. And buyers only have until June 30 to "take advantage" of this offer.

[Xenotime]

24. I heard ads like that all over the place on the radio...

One dealer said, "This is a great time for a family that couldn't otherwise afford a 'large-engine vehicle' to get one at a great price." He should be thrown in jail for talking like that. His suggestions are borderline criminal on many levels.

[tularetom]

7. We have a family member with one of those F350 Diesels

with the crew cab long bed and 4 wheel drive.

He has plastered McCain stickers all over the rear bumper and tailgate. Problem is nobody but him ever sees the stickers because he can't afford the almost $5 a gallon diesel to makke the behemoth run.

It sits in his driveway while he makes $400 monthly payments on it. He's seriously upside down on his loan yet he can't sell it for half of what he still owes on it.

But he thinks drilling in ANWR will make $1 a gallon diesel available again and all will be right with the world.

If he wasn't so stupid I'd feel sorry for him.

[sarcasmo]

20. Nobody but him will ever see it, that is great, nice line.

This is why GM announced the closing of four of it's SUV plants a few weeks ago.

[AnneD]

8. Brother uses one for his business.....

he was so excited, he got a great deal on a used one that was better than his current one. He alaso runs a horse ranch, so he is glad to get the new ones. Some of you young ones don't remember, but there was once a time when only real cowboys and farmers used trucks, city folk used station wagons.

[orleans]

9. i remember that. guess i'm not a "young one" anymore. (sigh.) n/t

[NYC_SKP]

10. Free Toyota Pruises!!! and, "Who killed the Station Wagon in America?"

Near everyone used to offer a station wagon. One of my favorite cars was my 7-passenger 1993 Camry wagon.
This model was taken off the American market after 1996 (you can still get them in Australia).
Honda used to have an Accord wagon. Even the Corolla wagon has now disappeared.
Since the early 1990's, CAFE mileage standards were more lax for light trucks, which helped to create the "SUV" (taa dah!).
These vehicles were pushed by Automakers because they evaded stricter fuel and safety standards and were more profitable.
Station wagons largely disappeared, except for expensive Volvos, Audis, Mercedes, etc. God love the one holdout, Subaru!

So yes, I remember when only farmers and contractors and people who needed trucks owned trucks. Now I see grandmas and cheerleaders and every damn body in California driving them, and driving them alone most of the time.

On an interesting side note:
A friend of mine drives a 13 MPG truck and asked about my Prius.
He drives about 40 miles each way to work. We did some math.
The fuel costs and car payment for a new Prius would cost him less monthly than the fuel cost alone for his truck.

Free Pruises to those who qualify. Offer improves as fuel costs grow.

[Huskerchub]

11. Except that

Toyota cannot make more batteries than it is currently producing. Which is causing as much as a 6-9 month wait in many areas of the country. There was a story on CNN this week showing a dealer in CA, IIRC, with a waiting list of over 100 people (each having put down a $500 deposit). I was told here in NE that the wait on a Prius is at least 8-9 months and on a Highlander 6 months. After putting down the deposit on a car when one comes into the dealer they call the top person on the list, they go into the dealer and finish the sale or say "I don't like this model/color/whatever" then the next person on the list is called and the person who turned it down goes to the bottom on the list to start waiting for another 6 months!

As for the trucks and expensive diesel...even with fuel being so expensive, they are probably still saving money because the MPG is so much higher on diesel.

[NYC_SKP]

13. Sad, isn't it, that Ford and GM missed out on an opportunity like this.

And it's true, Toyota can't even keep up.

True, too, that Toyota has one weird sales model. Dealers and, consequently, buyers cannot order cars with specific options and colors.
What comes in at port is delivered to dealers based on an odd system that favors big dealers but promises nothing to anyone.
Dealers request, but cannot guarantee.
More than a year ago, I had to fly to Long Beach to get the only model in California that was equipped to my specs.

Ford and GM really missed an opportunity. Had they not been so greedy and short-sighted, there's no reason that American automakers couldn't have been tooling up for high-mileage cars in anticipation of this inevitable energy crisis.

GM could have been the leading electric car manufacturer. California was to have at least 10% electric cars by now.

Instead, they're stuck with unsold stock and are closing factories and laying off workers.

[Clark2008]

21. And would buy something not American.

SIGH.

He could buy a Ford Escape hybrid.

Not ALL hybrids are bubble-butted Toyotas.

Support UNIONS: Buy American.

[anigbrowl]

23. If it's the best for the job, sure. You know Toyota makes cars here too, yes?

I don't believe in buying a brand just because it's local unless all other things are equal. If a product doesn't genuinely do the job better, you're just perpetuating an inferior model. I have nothing against the Ford, good on them for thinking ahead and producing a car that the market needs right now. But if I was trying to buy a hybrid car, I'd just do cold hard math to make my decision.

[galledgoblin]

25. few American brand cars are actually still made in America...

and all contain internationally-made parts. buying a "Ford" doesn't guarantee much more than padding for the corporate pockets.

[LeftyMom]

30. The escape hybrid only gets in the low 30s mpg.

It's not a comparable vehicle to the Prius. It's not bad for what it is, but if a person's main aim is to save fuel, there are a whole lot of conventional engine vehicles that would go higher on the list.

[galledgoblin]

27. that's the way it should be

and hopefully will be again. who the hell "needs" a Hummer?

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. "Three years ago, people who didn't even need a truck were buying trucks. Now they're getting rid of

them."

Quote from article.

[L0oniX]

14. You all can eat those SUV's and trucks. Loosers !

:evilfrown:

[Super Soaker Sniper]

15. I drive a 2007 Dodge Ram

I really can't make do with anything smaller. I have to haul stuff and dogs to Agility and Flyball Competitions and that requires a large vehicle. I ride my motorcycle more and more out of nessecity than enjoyment now. I went from riding it a few times a month to work to riding it every day except when weather does not permit.

If not for my dogs, I would be in a much smaller vehicle now. My dogs do not ask for much but the Agility and Flyball Competitions is something they truly enjoy.

[Fumesucker]

16. Trailers don't cost all that much

Usually will hold a lot more than the bed of pickup.

And can be towed by quite small cars.. Even motorcycles tow trailers with little problem.

You can have your mileage cake and eat the hauling capacity too.

[CRF450]

19. Depending on the job, trailers can be a big inconvenience

Especially if you have to be in and out of places quickly when yuu can just throw whatever you need in the bed and simply drive on.

[anigbrowl]

22. Key word: 'job'. If you use your vehicle to do business, time is money.

But at least here in California, a lot of people bought an outsize, impressive vehicle for enjoyment, personal taste, or prestige. Like the guy down my street who has some huge Dodge pickup in his his driveway. I haven't seen it move in 6 months, but he sits on his doorstep and plays with a remote control one instead.

[Fumesucker]

28. Even a 5x8 trailer will carry considerably more than even a large pickup..

And there really aren't all that many long bed wide side pickups around.

The short stepside pickups are ridiculously limited in carrying capacity.

Not to mention that trailers are a lot closer to the ground than a pickup bed, important for loading and unloading heavy stuff, especially for us older folks. Big pickups are so far off the ground that it can be a real hassle getting in and out of the back for geezers with bad knees, a trailer you just step on and off.

When the work day is over, about a minute suffices to unhook the trailer with all your work gear and your vehicle is ready to play.

[tabasco]

17. I pull a utility trailer up to 1000 pounds with a 4-banger.

Do your dogs and stuff weigh over 1/2 ton?

[Super Soaker Sniper]

26. The "stuff"

takes up a lot of space. The dogs (two Border Collies and a Dacshund) not so much. I am also in the process of remodeling my own house and my son's house. I am doing this myself and stuff I build for his house at my workshop, I have to haul. Plus there is also drywall, plywood and such I have to get. My son is going to ETS out of the Army as soon as his current tour (his third) in Iraq is done. I want to have his house done by then.

[tabasco]

29. I haul plywood, RR ties, etc, with the trailer.

Just gotta keep it under 1000 pounds.

[Spock_is_Skeptical]

18. haha, I love news like this though