GM truck sales surge, Toyota with gas guzzling SUV's, Trucks

b. control wrote:Let me guess...you wouldn't even look at a minivan because the other soccer moms wouldn't approve of such a vehicle. The gas mileage on most minivans is 20 city, 25 highway...show me an 7 passenger SUV that gets that kind of mileage.

I've got the 7-passenger Toyota Highlander (4-cylinder, not a hybrid). It gets 20/25 (by my own precise calculations... I don't remember what it was rated to get, other than it was the best for 7 passenger SUV's).

It's a tight fit for 7 in it. It wouldn't be useful as a 7-passenger vehicle unless you've got young small kids (not car-seat kids) that would enjoy that tiny backseat with no leg room.

I've got 3 kids so the 5 of us find it to be a great vehicle with decent gas mileage and still have storage room in the back (and on top). I didn't want a minivan (which can get slightly better gas mileage) because I do too much camping that I need the little bit of extra clearance under the vehicle.

Ford Explorer is a wonderful vehicle, and you can expect around 18-24mpg with the v6 engine. Engineered fantastic, safe, and priced well.

For some of us, the suv is just the way to go. Boating, hauling all the kids, its an suv or a minivan. NO , a 4dr car does not work with 4 kids and all the stuff you need to take, it just requires another vehicle.

Also consider the Chrysler Town & Country. Weve had several, and great luck with them.

RunMOM wrote:

b. control wrote:

Should've bought five Trojans back in the day. Thanks for contributing to overpopulation.

Let me guess...you wouldn't even look at a minivan because the other soccer moms wouldn't approve of such a vehicle. The gas mileage on most minivans is 20 city, 25 highway...show me an 7 passenger SUV that gets that kind of mileage.

Thanks, I'll take my kids over your opinion...

I have a van, dumb ass - honda odyssey - it doesn't get better gas mileage than our old '89 suburban.

There is no way I would fit my kids in a used camry.

b. control is just pissed that he is sad and alone, without anyone who gives a shit about him. Loser.

Someone has PMS! And maybe fat kids!

A used Camry would be excellent. They are statistically more safer than an SUV, once you account for rollovers.

Dr. Spock wrote:

A used Camry would be excellent. They are statistically more safer than an SUV, once you account for rollovers.

More safer?

How do you fit 5 kids in a camry?

Good vehicles for family with 3 or 4 kids.

Ford Explorer-have one and love it

Ford Edge

Mitsubishi Montero

Chrysler Town & Country- only way to go if you go minivan

welcome to the 00s wrote:

Maybe you shouldn't shuttle your kids everywhere...make them ride their bikes, or, God forbit, walk. But you probably live in some gated community far, far away from shopping, schools, and services.

Why don't you move to the middle of some barrio or ghetto and see how long you'll last walking, you fraud.

big truck=short dick

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welcome to the 00s wrote:

Maybe you shouldn't shuttle your kids everywhere...make them ride their bikes, or, God forbit, walk. But you probably live in some gated community far, far away from shopping, schools, and services.

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"Why don't you move to the middle of some barrio or ghetto and see how long you'll last walking, you fraud."

To add to this, how about 10 miles out in the country? Oh and if that's not enough, how about when it's the middle of january(think northern states) and you're inside running on your precious treadmill? Do you want your kids to bike? Nah, I didn't think so.

Not everyone likes to be crammed into the suburbs, city slicker.

yeah baby wrote:

dumb ass people buy trucks and SUVs. the gov't should outlaw them. the gov't outlawed detriot from selling muscle cars in the early 1970's which ended countless deaths.

Huh? There was no outlawing. The emmisions restrictions of 1973 basically castrated every perfromance car on the market to make the air cleaner, it had nothing to do with any deaths related to the muscle car fad. Go drive your Prius and stop listening to Ralph Nader.

help this girl wrote:

You hit my point. I was amazed to learn that Toyota has introduced more SUVS and Trucks over the last 3 years than GM or Ford. Are they going down the same path? And now talking about building a 3/4 ton truck with a large powertrain.

They introduced MORE over the past 3 years than GM or Ford because GM and Ford already HAD lots of SUV/Truck models. Toyota did not.

And yes, in some ways Toyota is going "down the same path." Trucks and SUVs still sell very well, despite gas prices. Many sell in rural America where for the most part, people need trucks. That market isn't going away.

SUVs sell to women, mainly, because they like the "security" of them. That market isn't going away either.

BUT, small cars with great gas mileage still sell very, very well because there's a significant segment that wants good gas mileage and doesn't care about showing off while in their car.

Toyota, like a good company, decided that it should make cars that ALL people like. If some like trucks, they'll make trucks. If some like SUVs, they'll make SUVs. If some like economical cars, they'll make economical cars. And they'll just do it better and cheaper than GM or Ford.

Its funny how people come out and talk about how detroit doesnt get the market(even though they have over half of it still) and slams them for building suvs and trucks.

But when Toyota gets into the act, well, thats ok.

GM and Ford make just as good of a product. Dont pay extra for the privalege of owning a Toyota.

My brother had two Ford Tauruses, they lasted OK but had lots of niggling little and sometimes not so little issues.

I had a Pontiac...worst car I ever bought...which I purchased with my then girlfriend at the time. The car, to be fair, lasted longer in my life than she did.

I have had NO trouble with my Toyotas, other than for the aforementioned pickup truck collisions. In both incidents

each truck was driven by a white male, both of whom said "I didn't see you". The cars were green and white respectively and both accidents were on clear days. The cause: inattentive or careless pickup truck drivers.

I stand by my first post.

I dislike and distrust pickup trucks and their drivers. I am lucky to be alive today.

help this girl wrote:

You hit my point. I was amazed to learn that Toyota has introduced more SUVS and Trucks over the last 3 years than GM or Ford. Are they going down the same path? And now talking about building a 3/4 ton truck with a large powertrain.

That's just because GM and Ford had already filled out almost all of the current niches in the truck segment (Jimmy/Blazer clones (now Trailblazer and clones), Suburban clones, S10, Sierra/Silverado, Yukon clones, Explorer, Expedition, Excursion, F150, Ranger) by the early 00's, where as Toyota only had the 4Runner, RAV4, Tacoma, and Landcruiser at that point. In the past 3-5 years Toyota has rolled out the Tundra, Sequoia, Highlander, and FJ Cruiser. Nissan has introduced a bunch in the past several years, too, when all they had 10 years ago were the Pathfinder and small pickup (Frontier now).

RunMOM wrote:

Okay, this is a good thread to get some help.

I have 5 kids.

Any advice on what to buy in lieu of an SUV?

I need to be able to fit them into one car, and I haven't been able to get by with anything other than a large SUV or Van. They both have the same gas mileage, so it isn't like the van is better.

Am I just screwed?

-RunMOM

You WERE screwed, you over-bred.

My Ford Fusion has been a far superior vehicle to the camry I had earlier- no question.

I got sick of the nagging issues- and dont get me started on the Jetta

The quality gap is only in perceived quality. There are plenty of people that will say Toyota is better, or Ford is better. They all make nice cars. How you take care of them is critical.

RunMOM wrote:

I have a van, dumb ass - honda odyssey - it doesn't get better gas mileage than our old '89 suburban.

Then your driving habits must suck, leadfoot.

The Mazda5 seats 7.

peeps, you have SERIOUS issues.

bullshit. the emissions restrictions was a euphemism for regulations set forth by the nixon administration to end the muscle car death epedemic of youth dying in street races and speed contests. the same thing should be done now to eliminate the epedemic in rollover deaths, and the dependence on foreign oil. how many poor white trash yahoos too dumb for college have to die to support your Ford F350 ? that's what you have to ask yourself.

no apologist wrote:

Its funny how people come out and talk about how detroit doesnt get the market(even though they have over half of it still) and slams them for building suvs and trucks.

But when Toyota gets into the act, well, thats ok.

GM and Ford make just as good of a product. Dont pay extra for the privalege of owning a Toyota.

No, GM and Ford get slammed because they make crappy vehicles - and thus, people don't want to buy them. The Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry were/are extremely popular vehicles and what did GM and Ford do to compete - give us the Taurus and the Fusion? Some sort of Pontiac?

Now, Toyota and other Asian companies are realizing that they can take Ford and GM's market share in trucks and SUVs, because the legendary loyal Ford and Chevy truck families have been slowly buying Camrys, Accords, and Sentras and liked the gas mileage and the reliability. Now those people are willing to take the chance and try a Japanese truck or SUV.

And no, Ford and GM don't have more than 50% of the market. You have to add in Chrysler to give American car makers over 50% - and that's just barely, and will probably be the last year it happens. Conveniently, the news came out today:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. sales at the traditional Big Three U.S. automakers continue to lose share to Toyota and other import brands in March, although sales at troubled Ford and Chrysler rebounded enough from weak February results to beat forecasts.

General Motors (Charts), the nation's No. 1 automaker, reported that it's U.S. sales slipped 4 percent to 345,418, a bit worse than the forecast of a 1.3 percent decline by sales tracker Edmunds.com.

Meanwhile, Toyota Motor (Charts) saw its U.S. sales rise nearly 12 percent to hit a record 242,675 in the month, helped by strong sales of its fuel-efficient hybrids, along with a jump in sales from the introduction of its first full-size pickup truck.

Honda Motor (Charts) saw sales rise 11 percent to also top forecasts of only modest gains, as did rival Japanese automaker Nissan (Charts). Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia posted narrow gains.

Despite the gains by Asian rivals, the GM results, along with those at Ford and Chrysler, were probably enough to allow the traditional American brands hang onto more than 50 percent of U.S. sales, a distinction they were in danger of losing for the first time.

Ford (Charts) reported a 9 percent decline in sales to 264,975 vehicles. But the company had warned last week that it was looking a double-digit declines from what had been its best sales month of 2006, and sales tracker Edmunds.com had forecast a 17 percent drop in sales for the nation's No. 2 automaker.