Lower fuel prices give surprising boost to big pickup trucks, SUVs
This month, gas prices are almost a dollar lower per gallon than they were a year ago. But experts say they will climb significantly the moment any sort of economic recovery occurs.
And thanks to that prolonged dip in fuel costs (oil prices have remained between $65 and $80 a barrel for 10 straight weeks), sales of compact and subcompact cars have plunged. Yet limited-edition cars like the $105,000, 470-horsepower Jaguar XJL Supercharged Neiman Marcus Edition, which gets a combined 17 miles per gallon, are selling out in a matter of minutes in special online sales.
Fans of the Ford F-Series trucks and Chevrolet Suburban are taking advantage of the reprieve as well, especially as the end-of-2009 sales season draws to a close. Each of those vehicles reported sales increases of more than 3 percent over September of last year — some big SUVs even saw bumps as high as 23 percent.
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