DuncanCunningham said:
I get the feeling when Petrol/Gas prices fall, which is almost always temporary, we buy cars that use more of it. When, 4 years later, we can't afford the running costs we complain about the lack of good cars that give a good MPG.
As for the latter statement, I'm not sure that's the case. But, every time gas prices go "high" (e.g. near or above $4/gal, which isn't that infrequent in CA), the local and national news keeps talking about "pain at the pump". But, all along, there have been plenty of fuel efficient vehicles. It's just that many folks have the memory of goldfish and decide to buy guzzlers because they
think they can "afford" it now and for the next few months or year or whatever.
But as for the first part, yep. Truck and SUV sales rise during "low" gas prices and smaller and more efficient vehicles languish. Then, when they go "high", people "flee" the guzzlers and want to dump them, not want to buy them and gravitate towards more efficient vehicles, temporarily. The cycle repeats. The oil companies and countries have got this worked out pretty well to keep Americans and the world addicted to oil.
I've had my 46 mpg combined 06 Prius (after adjustment to model year 08+ test procedure) since Jan 06. It mostly sits in my garage now since I got my Leaf. 2010 Prius upped that to 50 mpg combined. The (unfortunately ugly) 2016 Prius ups that to 52 or 56 mpg combined, depending on whether it's the Eco version.
07 Camry Hybrid was 34 mpg combined (and IIRC, 192 net system hp). Next gen (2012) Camry Hybrid upped that to 200 hp while boosting combined mpg to 41 mpg.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=22016&id=26425&id=22825&id=32092
I've visited Japan 5x and spend ~3 weeks in Europe. Battering ram of death class guzzler SUVs (e.g. size and weight of guzzlers like Tahoes, Suburbans, Expeditions, Escalades, Navigators, etc.) are virtually unseen on those roads. In comparison, come to my neighborhood and watch the insane # of those pull into and out of the supermarket parking lot, almost always been driven solo and/or w/minimal cargo and passengers.
From http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2016/09/usa-august-2016-auto-sales-by-model-brand.html, last month in the US, while Nissan sold/leased just over 1K Leafs, in that same time, this many BRoD SUVs were sold in the US. This isn't a complete list of BRoDs and doesn't include any BRoD pickup trucks:
Tahoe: 8,297
Suburban: 5,737
Escalade: 3,037
Yukon: 5,324
Expedition: 5,275
Navigator: 797
The 1st 4 vehicles are basically the same except the Slade is gussied up and Suburban is extended length only while it's another variant/trim on the other three.
I was surprised to see (guzzler) 2 Tahoe Hybrids today as I can go months w/o seeing one. I saw 1 (over 6600 lb.) Ford Excursion (aka Exxon Valdez) on the road and 1 parked today, in my under 25 mins of driving.
edit: And back to whether those folks w/poor vehicle buying choices and whether they actually "afford" the vehicle and its fuel, I always see articles like these and I suspect many of those folks are the same people as the below.
66 million Americans have no emergency savings
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/21/66-million-americans-have-no-emergency-savings.html
"66 million U.S. adults have zero dollars saved for an emergency, according to a new study.
...
Currently, 47 percent of Americans said they either could not afford an emergency expense of $400, or would cover it by selling something or borrowing money, according to a separate report by the Federal Reserve Board's Division of Consumer and Community Affairs."
63% Of Americans Don't Have Enough Savings To Cover A $500 Emergency:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2016/01/06/63-of-americans-dont-have-enough-savings-to-cover-a-500-emergency
1 in 3 Americans Has Saved $0 for Retirement:
http://time.com/money/4258451/retirement-savings-survey/
"56% of Americans Have Less Than $10,000 Saved for Retirement
...
One-third of Americans report they have no retirement savings.
23% have less than $10,000 saved."