SUV’s: The Worst of All Possible Worlds

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http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=1945

Speaking of sports utility vehicles, consider the philosophy developed by Jeremy Bentham. Utilitarianism identified pain and pleasure as the only absolutes and declared that “whatever brings the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people” is, well, great (even if it isn’t so great for the people who don’t make the cut). By this standard, America’s gas-guzzling SUV’s were once a very good thing; the lumbering behemoths brought the majority of American motorists tremendous, not-to-say guilt free pleasure. And then, they didn’t. And now Detroit’s feeling the pain.

In July, GM’s truck sales slipped 31.2%, Ford’s fell 44.8% and Chrysler’s dropped a bunch [update soon]. Obviously, the whole SUV thing is on the skids. Sure, thousands of Big Three executives and middle managers continue to hold a candle for the genre, hoping against hope that America’s automotive “fickleness” resolves itself, so that the gold rush can resume.

These days, the SUV’s owners face a new problem: how to ditch their trucks when everyone else is trying to do the same. Trade-in values on SUV’s are so low they’re laughable– unless you happen to hold paper on one. Which creates a vicious circle; if you get burned on your old SUV, you sure as Hell ain’t gonna buy a new one. As hard as it is to believe, Detroit has an even bigger problem than how to coax SUV buyers out of their old rigs into a new one without giving all the trucks’ profits away. Now what?

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