GILROY
– With Bay Area gas prices inevitably skyrocketing toward $3 per
gallon, the trip to the pump is draining Gilroy car owners’ wallets
– and their desire to own a big pickup truck or SUV may be
dwindling.
GILROY – With Bay Area gas prices inevitably skyrocketing toward $3 per gallon, the trip to the pump is draining Gilroy car owners’ wallets – and their desire to own a big pickup truck or SUV may be dwindling.
”Don’t tell me you have a gas guzzler,” has been one of his first reactions to customers who want to trade in their cars, said Shay Gonzales, sales Manager at Gilroy’s Gavilan Honda.
”I’m getting a lot of phone calls,” he said. ”People with big trucks want to trade them in (for a smaller car).”
According to Gonzales, sales of Honda Civics, which get much better gas mileage than larger vehicles, have been up 15 to 20 percent in the past month.
Honda Civics have a highway mileage of 31 miles per gallon, Gonzales said, while big trucks and SUVs average 15 to 18 miles per gallon.
National retail prices for gasoline averaged at $1.77 per gallon Thursday, according to Sean Comey, spokesman for AAA of Northern California. The state’s average for a gallon of gasoline was $2.20, an all-time high for California, Comey said. In Gilroy, while the price at some stations exceeds California’s average, the city’s average – lumped in with the greater San Jose area – was $2.16, Comey said.
Meanwhile, an analysis by the Energy Information Administration said fuel prices will probably continue to increase over the next three months and then decline somewhat during the rest of the summer. It said the national average between now and the end of June is likely to be about $1.81 a gallon.
Considering those prices, the decision to own a fuel-efficient vehicle is definitely friendlier to the wallet, Gonzales said.
For example, filling up a Honda Civic weekly for one year would cost $936, he said.
A large pick up truck with a larger gas tank and lower fuel efficiency would need to be filled up at least twice a week, Gonzales said, bringing the yearly cost in gasoline as high as $4,500 a year.
According to Gonzales, the Civic Hybrid, delivering up to 50 miles per gallon, is currently the most popular car among customers.
The increasing popularity of hybrid cars is also noticeable at the Gilroy Toyota dealership across the street.
”We’ve definitely noticed an increase in orders for the Prius,” said Robert Farnham, sales and leasing manager.
Overall, the dealership has noticed an overall sales increase of 43 percent in the Toyota line.
”(That’s) primarily because Toyotas get good gas mileage,” he said.
According to Farnham, seven Toyota models, among them the Corolla, Scion, Matrix and Prius have a gas mileage of more than 30 miles per gallon.
But not all car dealers say they notice a trend among customers to go with fuel-efficient sedans instead of trucks and SUVs.
Carl Cooper, general sales manager at the Al Sanchez VW, Mazda, Jeep, KIA dealership said while more customers have been trading in their big trucks and SUVs lately, many of them did so just to downsize to smaller trucks and SUVs.
For example, Cooper said, some customers have traded in their Ford Expedition for a Jeep Liberty or a Chevy Tahoe for a Jeep Wrangler.
Fernando Gaeta, sales associate at South County Chrysler Dodge said the increase in gas prices hasn’t negatively impacted sales of big SUVs and trucks, which seem to be more popular than ever.
”Gas prices have gone up, and SUV sales have gone up,” he said.
Gaeta said especially eight cylinder, 4×4 SUVs, such as the Dodge Ram and the Hemi Durango – all cars delivering as little as 15 to 17 city miles per gallon – are extremely popular among buyers.
High prices at the pump, he said, are not enough to stop people from buying what they like.
”It’s just what people want to keep up with the Jones’,” Gaeta said.
For Chris Rutledge, who considered buying a GMC Sierra 2003 pick-up truck at the dealership Thursday, it’s more than just that.
”They are very versatile,” said Rutledge, who already owns an SUV, and wanted the truck for vacation use.
While Rutledge was convinced the high gasoline prices are just temporary, Ashley Pemberton, his son’s girlfriend, said the price hike has definitely changed her driving habits for now.
Pemberton said she mainly drives her Chevy Camaro these days, while the Chevy Silverado and Chevy Suburban she owns with her boyfriend remain parked most of the week.
But Gonzales, who believes that many people buy large vehicles mainly as status symbols, said the solution to the current problem is a practical one.
”For intelligent people, a car is to get to and from business, not to impress anyone,” he said.
