For the first time, one in five new cars sold in the U.S. is a compact or subcompact. I guess we are learning more about the gas price "tipping point" -- when the cost of fuel causes large numbers of consumers to change their consumption.
The New York Times explains:
The switch to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles has been
building in recent years, but has accelerated recently with the advent
of $3.50-a-gallon gas. At the same time, sales of pickup trucks and
large sport utility vehicles have dropped sharply.
In another first, fuel-sipping four-cylinder engines surpassed six-cylinder models in popularity in April.
"It's
easily the most dramatic segment shift I have witnessed in the market
in my 31 years here," said George Pipas, chief sales analyst for the Ford Motor Company.
