Really? Last time I got gas it was a shade over 20 bucks.

Anyway, tough question. There are people who don't mind and want the jumbo SUV, but I think the people who don't are indeed drifting away, but is it enough to extinguish the jumbo SUV? I don't know.

The Excursion sized I can see dying and not returning, not for a long time if ever anyway. The Expedition sized I can see taking a dramatic hit, and becoming a true rarity on the road, but I can't see the Explorer sized taking much of a hit over the next few years, even if gas prices do indeed soar.

As for the small SUV, who knows? According to the state of Michigan, I drive a station wagon.

 

Re the first part: that's exactly why you have insurance (at least I hope you do) -- and if you're really worried, buy higher limits for liability insurance

Re the second part: when we first saw our house almost four years ago, there were 4+ inches of snow on the ground

 

Personally, if there could be some engineering feat that would allow the tank-sized SUVs to get 30-35 MPG, then I think size would be less of an issue. Personally, I would still never own one, however. Even a fuel-efficient SUV would be hard to park, hard to maneuver, and fare poorly in an emergency swerve.

 

I see the CUV as a trend towards the now rare station wagon.