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Backseat Drive: Four-Wheel Drive and Third Seats

It's the biggest cliche in auto journalism: Who needs 4-wheel drive to go to the mall?

Yes, it is customary to mock the ads on TV which disguise suburban mice as 4-wheel drive monsters thundering across the American plain with mesas in the background, or creating rooster tails of snow as they cruise through two feet of the stuff with pine trees in the background.

(Other vehicles are never in the background.)

But after Thursday night's snow storm, many of us were glad we had either 4-wheel or All-wheel drive. It certainly made driving easier and all it took was a couple of 2-wheel/rear drive vehicles getting stuck to hold up traffic and create gridlock for hundreds.

Whether one needs a Hummer for those few days a year when suburban driving does turn into an outdoor adventure is debatable. But that is beside the point.

As was recently pointed out to me by Matt Fields who runs the communications office at Consumer Reports' auto test track in East Haddam, Conn., people don't just buy the vehicles they need; they often buy the vehicles they think they need.

That is one of the great undefinable aspects of auto marketing.

But while gas prices in this country remain half the price of Europe let alone most other nations, it's a fair bet that people will continue to pay the extra dollar for the safety they think they get from the 4-wheel drive and higher visibility of an SUV or crossover or CUV (crossover utility vehicle).

And when it occasionally snows, they will be rewarded.

At the same time, do so many vehicles need to have that third row of seats? I've had a reverse third seat in two Volvo station wagons over the last four years and have hardly ever had to use it despite having a family.

The third row seems to be a hand-down from the minivan, the forerunner to the SUV in terms of popularity, which was specifically designed to be a people pusher. But those third seats, which certainly add to the weight of a vehicle, are beginning to get pretty tight in the crossovers. And are they really used that much?

- Peter C. T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 12:32 PM to commentary | Permalink | Comments 0

Honda expects a surge in 2008

Honda expects its U.S. sales to increase between 3% and 5% in 2008 despite a slight drop in the overall market, said John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda auto operations, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Total light vehicle sales in 2008 likely will be around 15.7 million, Mendel said Thursday during a visit to metro Detroit. Total U.S. sales are expected to finish at 16.3 million this year.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:08 AM to Honda | Permalink | Comments 0

Historic fuel deal is reached

WASHINGTON -- Three decades of fighting over fuel economy ended Thursday, as the U.S. Senate approved a 40% increase in mileage standards for cars and trucks, giving a green light to rules that will force Detroit automakers to spend billions of dollars upgrading their models, according to the Detroit Free Press.

By agreeing to a stripped-down energy bill in an 86-8 vote, the Senate cleared a path for the fuel economy hike to pass the House next week. The White House said President George W. Bush would sign the bill, after Democrats failed by one vote to save a $21.8-billion tax plan from a Republican filibuster.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 10:04 AM to Fuel economy , Government regulations | Permalink | Comments 0

Storm sets record, another storm on the way

Providence area set a record for the day yesterday with 8.2 inches of snow. And while temperatures will be warmer today, they will drop to well below freezing tonight.
Then more snow on Saturday night with another storm moving in on Sunday, according to the Providence Journal.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:52 AM to Driving | Permalink | Comments 0

Oil Prices Rise on Demand Forecast

Oil prices rose Friday on forecasts that oil demand would grow faster than previously expected next year with new buyers in the market. Gains were held back, however, by the dollar gaining strength against the euro.

The International Energy Agency raised its forecast for world oil demand growth in 2008 by 170,000 barrels a day to 2.5 percent, compared with 2.3 percent in its previous report. It said overall demand was now expected next year to reach 87.8 million barrels a day, according to Dow Jones Newswires and reported by the Associated Press.

The forecast assumed continuing robust oil demand growth in non-OECD countries, where subsidies protect people from the impact of high oil prices, and normal winter weather.

On Friday, light, sweet crude for January delivery rose 20 cents to $92.45 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by the afternoon in Europe.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:46 AM to Crude oil market | Permalink | Comments 0

Gas Prices Spur Consumer Inflation

WASHINGTON -- Consumer inflation surged by the largest amount in more than two years in November, led by gasoline prices. The cost of clothing, airline tickets and prescription drugs also jumped, according to the Associated Press.

The Labor Department said its closely watched Consumer Price Index rose 0.8 percent last month, the biggest one-month increase since a 1.2 percent surge in September 2005, when the country was hit by rising energy costs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:45 AM to Gas prices | Permalink | Comments 0