Car Buyer shifts away from Midsized SUV Segment

Now, in a word, they aren’t. That’s because we’ve reached the tipping point when drivers change habits with one habit changed is driving gas guzzlers. More and more consumers are turning to smaller cars with good fuel economy.

So what happens to the family that needs a larger car just to accommodate all their members? It seems that they are turning to crossovers like the Ford Edge and Buick Enclave. Built on a car platform rather than a truck platform, they are lighter. And because they are lighter than SUVs, the crossover gets better gas mileage.

Sales figures for last month are just coming in. Earlier, for the first five months of 2008 show what condition midsized SUVs are in now. Sales of SUVs are down as much as 24 percent. In May alone there was a 38 percent decline in sales.

It should be to no one’s surprise that sales of large SUVs are also plummeting. Manufacturers are now considering whether to keep offering them or just plain drop them from their line.

Our take? The Detroit Three were caught with their pants down because the shift took place so quickly. While they expected a change in the market, they were not prepared to make changes within months that normally take years. Many auto pundits say that the shift from SUVs and trucks to smaller, fuel efficient cars was the quickest in 30 years.

So now the car makers are left to pick up the pieces and see if they can put things back together again.

via Detroit News