Seems like everyone is concerned about volatile fuel prices. And most readers who responded to a Tribune query about who has downsized vehicles cited the cost of a fill-up.
This despite trade-in statistics indicating that owners of big vehicles are staying in them. It’s the intermediates taking the hit by their owners in search of fuel-conscious compacts.
The battle of the bulge is on — and combatants are shedding pounds with gusto.
It seems that cutting fuel costs and reducing U.S. dependency on foreign oil are only the obvious upsides to downsizing. Woodridge resident Dean Swanson swapped his Ford Taurus sedan for a Subaru Impreza wagon. He got the desired improvement in fuel economy — and more.
The Impreza, said the one-time minivan owner, is “a lot more fun to drive with a manual transmission” and all-wheel-drive. Swanson says the small wagon with a roof rack can carry more than his wife’s sport-utility. And he loves being lower to the ground, making the Subaru easier to load and unload.
Performance and safety don’t appear to concern downsizers.
The 2007 Chevy Aveo, for example, has standard side-air bags, and anti-lock brakes are an option.
Similarly, the Scion xB comes standard with ABS and side- and side-curtain air bags. But Steve Rabeor was most interested in its 1.5-liter, 4-cylinder engine that has been delivering some 30 miles per gallon.
Rabeor, of Chicago, said he “might do a few things to my Scion to improve its performance.” But his wife may have taken care of that by buying a Scion tC, which scoots with a 4-cylinder Camry engine.
At 6-feet plus, Rabeor was surprised at the room in his xB. With the rear seats folded, there’s also plenty of space for his two large dogs, including a 120-pound bloodhound.
“I was driving a ’93 Ford Explorer Sport,” he said. “I looked at the [Ford] Escape but figured this Scion was a better buy. I paid around $15,000 for it.”
These changes are showing up in data from the Power Information Network of J.D. Power and Associates. Consumer loyalty with respect to vehicle size appears to be strongest among owners of compact vehicles.
Both the “large” and “midsize” segments lost numbers in trades, as consumers gravitated to smaller forms of transportation.
In the second quarter 2005, 51.5 percent of owners of compact vehicles chose similar-size vehicles, 35.2 percent traded into midsize vehicles and 9.2 percent chose large vehicles.
The comparable quarter this year showed 59.4 percent staying with compacts, 29.9 percent trading for midsize vehicles and 7.2 percent chosing full-size rides.
Two years ago, 65.6 percent of large-vehicle owners stayed in that segment, 21.4 percent selected midsize and 8.3 percent tried compacts.
In the second quarter of this year, 61.4 percent bought large vehicles, 21.4 percent moved to midsize and 12.6 percent downsized to compacts.
How have midsize-vehicle owners traded? Two years ago, 53.9 percent stayed put, 22.3 percent went small and 19.1 percent upgraded to full-size vehicles.
In 2007, owners of 48.8 percent of owners of midsize vehicles stayed in that segment; 31.3 percent went to compacts, and 15.2 percent chose large vehicles.
Chris Li, a spokesman for the Power network in Troy, Mich., suggested that owners of large vehicles — particularly luxury ones — generally are not affected by higher gasoline prices. If they can afford the car, they can afford the gas.
“Also, nothing can take the place of a larger vehicle,” said Li. “If a family has four people and they go camping or skiing, they need a big vehicle.
“It looks like standard-size cars also are being hurt in the market,” he said.
Ann Fandozzi, director of product marketing for Chrysler in Auburn Hills, Mich., seconds that.
Fandozzi says $3 per gallon has been the “magic number” that prompts consumers to think about fuel economy. In response, Chrysler has come up with the Dodge Caliber, a compact, all-purpose vehicle with popular safety features and high seating for down-the-road visibility that starts around $14,000. “Caliber has an off-road option [all-wheel drive], standard side, front and rear curtain air bags, optional anti-lock brakes and a choice of three 4-cylinder engines, including a 173-horsepower high-output version,” said Fandozzi.
In addition to its smaller engine, Caliber also offers a continuously variable automatic transmission.
“Fuel economy and ecology will always be a concern [to consumers],” Fandozzi said, adding that buyers are becoming more discerning and aware. “Each generation improves on the last.”
Joan and Paul McConnell of Santa Fe, needn’t feel slighted by Fandozzi’s observation. The seventysomething couple picked up their 2007 Toyota Prius in March.
While this isn’t exactly downsizing — Joan has had two Toyota Corollas, a Honda and a Volkswagen — they were passionate about addressing the country’s dependency on imported oil and wanted fuel efficiency and advanced technology.
“I’ve been reading the owner’s manual — I’m on page 151” of 495, she saidl. Her quiet new sedan — it makes no noise when running on the batteries only — with its “smart key” (no ignition slot, no key) is a challenge. But, she said, in her first two weeks of daily driving in an urban setting, she used only a half-tank of gas.
It was a huge commute (about 120 miles daily) from her home in Peru, Ind., (birthplace of Cole Porter) to her 40 piano students in metropolitan Indianapolis that forced Sheryll McManus out of her beloved Lincoln Town Car and into a new Prius.
“I would have tried every car available, had I thought I was really going to buy a new car,” McManus said. “But I went strictly on mileage, and a little research on the Internet led me to drive the Prius. I was sold in about 2 minutes.
“Will I ever get through all the instruction books?” she asked, echoing McConnell.
Fred Schussler of Aurora is very big on small, prizing his “4-cylinder fleet,” with its stylish ’93 Mazda Miata and ’01 Camry.
Schussler also has a Honda Goldwing motorcycle and a Suzuki high-performance bike.
“The bikes will get about 50 m.p.g. if ridden sensibly,” he said. “I would like to add that I have conscientiously decided to drive less frivolously than I used to.”
But when it comes to downsizing, Dr. Romualdas Povilaitis, a Lemont dentist, takes the cake: “I am presently driving a Mini Cooper but I will switch to a Smart Fortwo as soon as it arrives in the U.S.A. [next spring]. The Smart gets 55 m.p.g.”
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MEET THE DOWNSIZERS
Here’s how before and after sampling from readers who “downsized” their daily drivers stack up:
Mini Cooper — Smart Fortwo
Length (inches)
Before: 145.6 inches
After: 107.8 inches
Width (inches)
Before: 66.3 inches
After: 62.4 inches
Weight (pounds)
Before: 2,546 pounds
After: 16,50 pounds
Fuel economy (city/highway)
Before: 32/40
After: N/A
Ford Taurus — Subaru Impreza
Length (inches)
Before: 197.6 inches
After: 175.8 inches
Width (inches)
Before: 73 inches
After: 66.7 inches
Weight (pounds)
Before: 3,392 pounds
After: 3,071 pounds
Fuel economy (city/highway)
Before: 20/28
After: 23/28
Lincoln Town Car — Toyota Prius
Length (inches)
Before: 215.3 inches
After: 175 inches
Width (inches)
Before: 78.2 inches
After: 67.9 inches
Weight (pounds)
Before: 4,070 pounds
After: 2,932 pounds
Fuel economy (city/highway)
Before: 17/23
After: 60/51
Ford Explorer Sport — Scion xB
Length (inches)
Before: 174.4 inches
After: 167.3 inches
Width (inches)
Before: 70.2 inches
After: 69.3 inches
Weight (pounds)
Before: 3,679 pounds
After: 3,086 pounds
Fuel economy (city/highway)
Before: 16/22
After: 22/28
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In the trades
These charts compare the trade-in habits of owners by segment for the second quarters of 2005 and 2007. %% Where compact owners traded 2Q ’05 2Q ’07 in % in % Compact 51.5 59.4 Midsize 35.2 29.9 Large 9.2 7.2 Compact premium 3.0 2.6 Midsize premium 1.0 0.9 Large premium 0.1 0.1
Where large owners traded 2Q ’05 2Q ’07 in % in % Large 65.6 61.4 Premium 1.8 1.7 Midsize 21.4 21.4 Compact 8.3 12.6 Compact premium 1.4 1.6 Large premium 1.5 1.3
Where midsize owners traded 2Q ’05 2Q ’07 in % in % Midsize 53.9 48.8 Compact 22.3 31.3 Large 19.1 15.2 Compact premium 2.4 2.5 Midsize premium 2 1.8 Large premium 0.3 0.3
Where premium compact owners traded 2Q ’05 2Q ’07 in % in % Compact premium 28.9 29.9 Midsize 25.1 23.5 Compact 13.9 20.6 Midsize premium 17.4 14 Large 12.3 9.9 Large premium 2.4 2
Where large premium owners traded 2Q ’05 2Q ’07 in % in % Large premium 34.9 35.4 Large 21.1 19.7 Midsize 17.3 15.8 Midsize premium 15.3 13.5 Compact 6.5 9.3 Compact premium 4.9 6.3
Where midsize premium owners traded 2Q ’05 2Q ’07 in % in % Midsize premium 39.3 37 Midsize 20.8 19.9 Compact 8.8 13 Large 14.8 11.6 Compact premium 9.3 11.5 Large premium 7 7
Source: Power Information Network %%
