They're sassy, even stylish and often easier on the wallet. But American auto buyers just can't seem to commit to smaller cars.
While the interest in small, fuel-efficient cars surges whenever gas prices rise, sales of economy cars have been flat over the past 10 years, said Art Spinella, general manager of CNW Marketing Research in Oregon. "Even when gas prices go way up, the economy car segment has never been more than 12 percent of the total car market," he said.
That's because if owners dump their gas guzzlers for a little car when prices hover around the $4-a-gallon mark, they climb right back into something bigger once they get used to the higher prices, said Sean McAlinden, chief economist at the Center for Automotive Research. In Minnesota, trucks account for a majority of the market. It's enough to make automakers worry that small cars will never be more than a niche market in the United States.
Still, many are betting that the trend will tick up. General Motors has several new, smaller cars in its lineup to tempt buyers. Hybrids and plug-in vehicles are already on showroom floors of most major manufacturers or soon will be.
Not satisfied to hang the pitch on fuel efficiency, car dealers are pushing ways to attract buyers to small cars. At the Fiat dealers in Bloomington and Brooklyn Park, most buyers are loving the Fiat 500's style, not its 39 miles per gallon, said Doreen Fischer, general manager. "No one is going to mistake this for a vanilla car," she said, adding that the eye-popping gas mileage is gravy.
Style isn't the only reason to consider something a little more petite. Janelle Walker of Chicago said that she enjoys watching pickups and SUVs pass by tight parking spaces that she can squeeze into with her 2002 Kia Spectra. With the hatchback, even hauling long pieces of flat-packed furniture from Ikea is easy, she said. But it's the 32 mpg that has made Walker hold on to her small car. Several times a year she drives to Wahpeton and Fargo to see relatives, saving on the expense of a thirstier car.
Despite small cars' relatively flat sales and the cyclical nature of their popularity, more of them will be featured at the Twin Cities Auto Show starting Saturday.
The largest display of hybrid, electric and clean diesel technology will be in the "green room" with 16 vehicles from Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Honda, Porsche and Toyota.
