Download - Big is beautiful when it comes to auto
My Insight could probably actually fit into the bed of some of the bigger pickup trucks
on the road these days.
Based on recent sales information, it appears that more and more American car buyers are favoring these types of big and
expensive vehicles.
While sales of its Prius hybrid model were down 13 percent from a year ago, for
Toyota, sales of its Lexus SUV were up 28 percent and sales of its Tacoma pickup truck
increased by 29 percent.
During this same period, sales of Honda's SUVs and trucks increased 13 percent, while Ford saw
increases in the sales numbers for its F-150 model and Chevy saw sales of its Silverado pickup
increase by 34 percent compared to the same time period one year ago.
Many analysts suggest that the increase in the sales of these types of vehicles is due in
large part to the relatively low gas prices that consumers are paying currently.
The front page of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper this past week
suggested the possibility the consumers may see gas prices actually dip below $2.00 per
gallon in the not too distant future.
Another reason for the increase in auto sales of these types of vehicles is the inevitable summer
discounts that manufacturers offer at this time of year in order to clear dealer inventory to make
room for next year's models.
These discounts are very enticing to consumers and may account for the 27
percent increase in the sales of Nissan Altima that occurred in July.
The result of these impression sales numbers may be that by the end of the year,
automakers will have had their best year since the beginning of the recession several
years ago.
An impressive 1.5 million vehicles were sold across the U.S. in July of 2015, which is an
overall increase of 5 percent from the previous year.
So far this year the sales numbers for luxury vehicle has been 1.3 percent higher this year
than last year, with 11.5 percent of all vehicles sold this year being in the luxury
class.