Well, I'm not sure if the buying public is solely to blame either. Many have stated - rightly so IMHO - that companies like GM have tried to RAM the truck and SUV concepts down the throats of the gullible public. Marketing is half the sales trick. They have done this initially because that is where they saw max profits, and they did not (and do not) care one teensy little bit about anything else such as pollution, climate change, or even long term vs short term profits. I would not have said this a while ago, but now with these 'new news' I can't help it any longer: GM deserves to go down, it will be better for everyone if they do. I know it will cost a lot of blue collar workers their jobs etc.., but the government will step in and take over the burden for the laid off workers (or rather, the tax payer \i.e. you and I will), so that the dumb and dumber execs can get their golden parachutes finances. I think a big collapse here will be a healthy catharsis, and maybe from the ashes a company along the lines of Toyota can rise, with decent management principles, decent cars, etc...
What a sad state of affairs.

 

This echos of whether to go against drug users or the pushers - both are partners in crime. Agreed on the SUV marketing...

I don't like seeing any US corporation going down

 

What should happen is something like what happened to cigarettes in Canada: Advertisements aren't allowed, but sales are still allowed. This slows a lot of new users from getting started in the first place, but doesn't interfere with the current users (those that "need" them). I feel that trucks and truck-class SUVs are unhealthy for society, they are necessary but too much of them is really bad news, and that's what's happening and partly why the supply and demand of fuel is so tight. I know that can't really happen in the US because you can't interfere with a corporation's constitutional right to free speech... but it would be a good compromise.

 

In US constitutional law, the right to tax is a work around (drugs).

Tanks are outlawed for civilan use - I would not mind requiring an Commericial License to everybody that drives a vehicle over 5,000-6,000 pounds....they were uncommon commute vehicles before the mid 1990's.

 

I remember a news story some time ago that in many urban and suburban areas, most residential roads have signs saying no vehicles over 6000 lbs. That means people driving vehicles like the H2, Caddy Escalade, and Ford Excursion are technically are not allowed to drive their cars down the road and park in their driveway. Maybe we need to start enforcing that. People being the lazy bunch that they are would probably very easily give up their SUVs for something lighter just so they don't have to walk the 100 or so feet to their house

 

I'm biting my tongue, period.

 

Do you really think most of them know or pay attention that thier vehicle weighs that much? They just see the advertising and buy it. "oh, it has power folding middle seats ... I need that" hehe ... I would laugh if they did enforce that law ... and they should! It is because the road/bridge/whatever was engineered to that level. I wouldn't want to go on one of these small drawbridges with these vehicles overloading them ... and I don't want our city budget to go over because they have cracked the roads and must repair them constantly. I know they overengineer and it won't make a difference for just one, but I would rather that one to be an emergency vehicle not Mr or Ms. Smith going to get a pack of cigarettes at the convenience store. Phase out the big vehicles, then we wouldn't have headlights in our rearviews blinding us either.

 

Don't hold your breath for a second, hoping that legislation will be enacted limiting the SUV's ads, usage, road loading or even fuel efficiency. No way. The latest CAFE rules are a joke.

The only thing that will cause the monster SUV fad to become fully extinct is a sustained high gas price. At least a year of $3-plus per gallon would be required.
The post-Katrina price spike did wonders to scare-off several SUV users, unfortunately it only lasted a couple of months, and now the SUVs are bouncing back.

 

The Dallas Morning News has an article today about how Detroit Sales Fall Behind. Inside the article GM is predicting gas prices will stabilize at lower levels, Ford is uncertain, and Toyota Motor Sales USA president Jim Press expects gas prices to rise this summer. Whatever their point of view, it looks like more of the same from each of the automakers in the near future (reality based or not).

As an aside, at my new owners meeting in October I spoke up saying they would not stay low and the reaction was "What do you know?". No one wants to believe we are stretched to the limit supply/distribution wise in the short term or reserve wise for the long term. Only time will tell who is right and I don't think it will take very long (months maybe instead of years?).

 

Higher gas prices will cause some trade-ins, but some will tighten their grip on their keys.

The ultimate deterant is for the general American public to frown down on land barges like they do in Japan and several other countries.

I know this is dreaming, but bear with me. What if someone bought a Hummer and they were teased/harassed non-stop about "how they arrived" and if it improved their sex life and power? Perhaps add to that occasionally having the air let out of their tires and nasty fake parking tickets (maybe not - don't want "Hummer martyrs" ). We are a long way from this kind of environment where such people feel like a wuss...

Most of these people bought their 6,000+ pound vehicle for ego reasons. If peer pressure shames rather than encourages their indulgence, it would be the most effective way to put an end to this.

I still would not mind residental weight regualtions and somewhat trimmed parking lot spaces....