Prius Outsells Explorer for 2007

This from the Financial Times earlier this week:

Americans bought more Toyota Prius hybrid petrol-electric hatchbacks last year than Ford Explorer sports utility vehicles, the top-selling SUV for more than a decade.

The change of fortune, buried in US vehicle sales data for 2007 and unthinkable a few years ago, will find an echo at this year's Detroit auto show, which starts on Sunday.

By itself, this story is just symbolic since the car market is bigger than just the Explorer or Prius. Still, it's a sign of the times. It's about time that the idea of truck-based SUV as family car gets consigned to the dustbin of history. I remember when the SUV fad first took off in the early 90's, they were still sold as offroad vehicles for the rugged outdoors person. You could tow a boat, drive to the ends of the Earth, and do all kinds of rugged outdoor things that the dowdy minivan family down the street couldn't do. We know what happened to that. Nobody drove those 4x4's offroad (ok maybe 1% did). The justification for SUVs devolved into a kind of rugged urban assault vehicle for the security moms.

Now, let's look at the good news/bad news behind the story.

While Prius sales soared 69 per cent last year, demand for the Explorer was less than a third of its 2000 peak. Many Americans are replacing truck-based SUVs with crossover vehicles, which are built like cars, thus offering a smoother ride and better fuel efficiency. Toyota began selling the Prius in North America in 2000, the same year Explorer sales reached a record 445,000 units.

Good news: Prius outsells Explorer
Bad news: We still buy a hell of a lot of big SUVs

Annual Explorer sales may be 1/3 of their 2000 peak of 445,000, but that's still over 130,000. Sales of other large SUVs are holding steady, thanks to hefty discounts.

Good news: Car-based crossovers replacing truck-based SUVs
Bad news: Crossovers aren't all that efficient (and it validates the popularity of the SUV body style)

Maybe I shouldn't complain so much about this one. Crossovers give a good boost in economy over similar size SUVs. The EPA's fueleconomy.gov website is a good place to research this. The Ford Explorer 4WD gets 13 MPG City/19 MPG Hwy and 15 MPG combined. Compare that to 18 MPG combined for the Ford Edge AWD or Taurus X AWD, both crossovers, and compare that to 19 MPG combined for the Taurus AWD, the sedan twin of the Taurus X. Crossover also refers to a whole gamut of vehicles, including such small efficient cars like the Toyota Matrix (29 MPG combined) and Ford Escape Hybrid (32 MPG combined).

As always, YMMV (your mileage may vary). The Mazda CX-7, a platform twin of the Ford Edge, has been reported to get as little as 14 MPG, as tested by the leadfoots at Car and Driver.

The last bit about validating the popularity of the SUV body style is mostly aesthetic. I don't like to get caught up in appearances or flaunting certain badges as eco status symbols. Still, the tall SUV style body hurts efficiency because of weight and aerodynamics. Since crossovers are built off the same platform as sedans, it's easy to find exactly how much you lose in efficiency. You decide if it's worth the extra room or not.

On Efficiency and Safety - Part 1

This is the first in a multi-part series on efficiency and safety. Aside from mass transit, efficient vehicles are small, light vehicles. One of the complaints about higher CAFE standards was that small cars are unsafe. Ironically these complaints came from many of the same people who derided airbags and helmet laws as the "nanny state". Americans just associate size with safety. It's partly legitimate and partly psychological. So on to Part 1.

Wired magazine has a cover story this month on the Automotive X-Prize, a contest that awards a $10M prize to the team that builds the best car that gets over 100 MPG. One of the featured vehicles is this, the Aptera Typ-1.



One interesting thing about it is that it drives like a car, but it has three wheels, two in front, one in the back. The Corbin Sparrow had a similar configuration except for being taller, narrower, and (dare I say) uglier. You get some weight savings this way, but mainly this cuts out a lot of federal red tape because three-wheelers are licensed as motorcycles and only need to pass the minimal safety standards of a motorcycle. I'm oversimplifying a bit, but it means it needs to have lights, mirrors, and to not fall apart/blow up while driving down the road. It's safe to say most car commuters aren't willing to assume the same risks as a motorcyclist, so the Aptera will have crumple zones and airbags, and they'll be crash testing it, but remember it's completely voluntary. No discussion of safety would be complete without considering Assumption of Risk. I'll have more on that next time, but for now, you can read the Wikipedia link if you want to skip ahead.