SUV extinction happening quickly?

Like the wood-paneled station wagon of the 1970s, the sport utility vehicle could be headed for extinction -- and soon, according to AP writer Tom Krisher. "The pace of the exodus has surprised Detroit's Big Three automakers," he writes. David Healy, an analyst for Burnham Securities, says mid-sized SUV "”- vehicles such as the Ford Explorer, Chevrolet TrailBlazer and Toyota 4-Runner -"” will be gone in a few years. "There's no excuse in the world anymore for having a truck-based SUV, and the segment is going to go to zero," Healy said. And that's why automakers are scrambling to launch vehicles like the Ford Edge, which they hope will fill the void left by the SUV backlash. It's tough to say how quickly the light truck market will continue to erode, but Krisher and Healy reckon automakers better act fast.