New trends in car-buying

While those giant Hummers and flashy Cadillac Escalades you see zipping around South Florida look like evidence of a rising trend in SUV sales, that is not the case.

In a Bankrate.com news article on Yahoo Finance, "Gas prices, interest rates spark big auto changes," it reports that as 2006 comes to an end, there is news that the "Big Three" automakers weren't who they used to be. "When you speak of the Big Three, it's no longer Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler. In 2006, Toyota took over the No. 3 spot from DaimlerChrysler, selling an estimated 2.5 million vehicles in its Toyota, Scion and Lexus divisions."

I can see how Toyota is climbing in auto sales because my newest car is the 2007 Scion TC, which I absolutely love! If you look at television commercials, it is apparent that Scion is targeting the 18-34 crowd with glitzy commercials abound with hip-hop and techno music. If you go to the Muvico Palace 20 movie theater in Boca Raton, there are numerous Lexus commercials before the movie begins. No wonder Toyota is climbing its way up in the charts!

The article also points out that "2006 could be remembered as the year that sales of cars began to rebound against sales of trucks -- which include minivans, SUVs and pickups. The last time cars outsold trucks was 2001, when the split was 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent. That shift toward cars over trucks, combined with public perceptions of who builds the most reliable, fuel-efficient vehicles, accounted for the other major industry news for 2006: The sharp rise of Toyota."

Gas prices have been why many people in South Florida and the rest of the nation are making the transition to fuel-economy-friendly cars and hybrid vehicles. When prices were over $3 a gallon, it was bad news for SUV's and trucks. Ford and other prominent SUV manufacturers tried to combat this situation by offering extended warranties and other financial incentives. However, in the long run, it looks like cars gained back their popularity in 2006.