Crossovers not providing the MPGs people want, so they're going back to SUVs

Hm, this is an interesting little twist. BusinessWeek's David Welch has written an article about SUVs that might come across as slightly counter-intuitive. It seems that many used-vehicle buyers are once again in the market for large SUVs, even though gas prices and crude oil prices are steadily increasing. Overall, SUV sales are still suffering, but Welch has found that people who shunned SUVs a year or so ago now miss the carrying capacity they once had. The smaller crossovers many turned to just aren't cutting it and don't provide enough of an improvement in the miles-per-gallon category to convince drivers to stay with the mid-sized CUVs.

Ricky Beggs, the vice-president and managing editor of Black Book, told Welch that "People don't like the high gas prices. But they have decided that they need the vehicle." I'd love to see a study that digs deeply into this concept of "need." I certainly don't dispute that some families fit best in a large-ass SUV, but I'm guessing that many people could downsize and deal with it just fine (contrary to Welch's article). I could probably head out to the highway right this moment and spot a lot of SUVs cruising around with just one (or maybe two) people inside. Any readers who have downsized (or upsized) want to chime in?

[Source: BusinessWeek]