Times they are a'changin'. Through the first five months of 2007, the Explorer has plummeted to #46. Wa
nt to hear more newsworthy statistics? There are no midsize SUV's in the top 20 and sales of vehicles like the Explorer, Chevrolet Trailblazer, and Toyota Highlander have dropped 43% since 1997. J.D. Power says just 5% of American car and truck sales are midsize SUV's and only 17% of midsize SUV owners are trading in like-for-like. Although it may seem to you as though there are hulking SUV's everywhere, consumers aren't the only ones steering clear. Just two years ago there were 22 non-luxury midsize SUV's for sale, six more than at present......
The Volvo XC90 treasure hunt mentioned by The Good Car Guy on May 2nd has gone slightly awry. A Russian woman, Alana Zvereva, made her way through the online puzzles and real-life treasure hunt to win the competition, with a reward of the XC90 and $50,000 in gold coins. However, the company Volvo contracted to bury the treasure and coordinate the find near Gibraltar found a real treasure. The government of Spain put a stop to Odyssey Marine Exploration's efforts (as well as their Volvo work), thereby delaying Zvereva from collecting her prize - XC90 keys and her gold. Spanish authorities obviously deem themselves to be the owners of whatever is found at the bottom of their part of the ocean......
Ferrari is celebrating its 60th year in business. They've held the special conco
urs, introduced a special 612 Scaglietti, donated $296,000 - by way of auctioning Ferrari memorabilia - to pediatric clinics around Modena, and created a new web TV station. Hip, and indeed, hooray.....Tiger wasn't cutting it at Buick. The world's best golfer, Tiger Woods has been Buick's pitchman since 1999. He's set to earn about $8million more with General Motors before 2009, but will now be used in OnStar ads and other GM-wide advertising rather than linking solely with Buick. Although golfing is a hot ticket for Buick-driving geriatric Floridians, Tiger doesn't seem to jibe with that image. He's 31, married to a former model, and doesn't look right in a Buick Lucerne.....
Automakers are apparently ticked off at the US Senate for passing a bill requiring 35 mpg average for all cars and trucks. The much weaker present standards are 27.5 and 22.2 miles per gallon averages for cars and trucks respectively. Senators want this to be effective by 2020. I drove a Nissan Versa 468 miles on a test drive last weekend (read about it real soon on GCBC) and averaged 33.6 mpg. This is 2007.....
Honda vs. Volkswagen will be back soon. The Nissan Versa - Driven, will be on the front page in short order as well.
It was Explorers of this generation that sold so well
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