Pickup Truck Sales Falling, Taking Auto Industry With Them

Perhaps that pickup should be going off a cliff instead of down a hill; it appears that pickup sales, which contribute big profits to the car manufacturers, are falling rapidly as gas prices increase. Now instead of being parked in suburban driveways, they are being bought by farmers and construction workers. According to the New York Times, Bucky Hacker has sold his Dodge Ram; he thought its macho appearance would help him attract girls. But there were drawbacks. “Gas was ridiculous,” Mr. Hacker, 24, said. “The thing got 13 miles per gallon.” His Mazda averages twice that, or 26 miles per gallon in city and highway driving.

The Times continues: Mr. Hacker touches on a reason sales have dropped: a growing sense of environmental responsibility that has flared along with gas prices. That, and an uncertain housing market, which is prompting many contractors to delay buying new trucks, have combined to cut into pickup truck sales, which are down 5 percent so far this year from a weak market last year. That is more than double the overall decline in industry sales, which are down 2 percent this year." ::New York Times