How will the public react when the government implements its proposed “realistic” fuel economy tests in 2008? That’s the question columnist John McCormick asks. It’s expected that fuel economy figures will drop by between five and 20 percent, perhaps more, depending on the testing cycle. While vehicles become increasingly fuel efficient, the lower numbers may concern many consumers. “Not only will this numerical decline be a challenge for showroom sales staff, but also it will add to a psychological concern already faced by owners of large SUVs,” writes McCormick. “I often hear luxury SUV owners in particular say that it’s not the actual cost of fuel that causes them to question their choice of vehicle – even at $3-plus a gallon, fuel is a marginal expense to American’s affluent class. What makes this audience feel guilty is the notion that they are being conspicuously wasteful, which brings the discussion round to hybrid electric vehicles.”
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02/04, 9:14 PM
posted by:
eric
Conspicuous consumption is the hallmark of our upper-middle- and upper-class, so I’m not sure how being ‘conspicuously wasteful’ of gas is going to push them to change their ways. I’m not even sure they’ll feel guilty. After all, don’t they know their own “realistic” milage when they fill up the tank and reset the trip odo?
If anything is going to shift consumers away from inefficient vehicles, it’s even more inexpensive hybrids or electrics.