Editor's note: This article appeared in the June 24, 2009, edition of Quirk's e-newsletter.
The red, white and blue-themed auto sales events this Fourth of July weekend promoting Ford Explorers, Chevy Tahoes and a buy-American mindset may find themselves oddly misplaced as interest in SUVs hits an all-time low. A strong majority of American consumers do not see the purchase of an SUV as patriotic. Nearly 90 percent of shoppers in the market to buy or lease a new vehicle do not believe that SUV drivers should be described as patriotic, according to the New-Vehicle Buyer Attitude Study from Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research, Irvine, Calif. Compared with attitudes of the new-vehicle-shopping group last year, the percentage of those who described SUV drivers as patriots dropped 12 points to a paltry 11 percent, the lowest level in the study's history.
Similarly, the number of vehicle shoppers considering an SUV has fallen to 34 percent, also the lowest level recorded. The only segment among sport utilities to see any growth in interest is small SUVs. Interest in purchasing a mid-size or full-size SUV decreased, and luxury SUVs remained flat.
Last year, the study showed that shoppers' top reason for not considering an SUV was that it was not the type of vehicle they were interested in. This year, the No. 1 reason for not considering an SUV is the escalation of gas prices. The percentage of those citing fuel prices as a major reason to reject SUVs was up eight points from last year to 61 percent. This concern over fuel prices also has broadened to an unease over SUVs' effect on the country's dependence on foreign oil. In fact, 37 percent said that U.S. dependence on foreign oil is a major reason they are not considering an SUV.