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SUVs Plunge in Value as Drivers Turn to Smaller Cars
Downsizing is in as pump prices start to pinch drivers
By Rob Quinn
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Posted May 24, 08 8:21 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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SUVs are falling out of fashion fast as gas prices go through the roof, CNN reports. As drivers downsize to more fuel-efficient vehicles, gas-guzzlers are filling up used-car lots—but there aren't many buyers. The biggest SUVs—like the Cadillac Escalade, Ford Expedition, and Chevy Suburban—are dropping in value by the thousands, a dealer reports.
"Small cars are gone within a week," he tells CNN, "SUVs are sitting here since last summer." Like homeowners who now have negative equity in their houses, SUV owners are finding themselves owing more on their vehicles than they are now worth. "If gas prices stay where they are at or continue to rise, the body-on frame SUV is an endangered species and the pickup truck as a personal car is an endangered species," one expert says.