Well Duh!! Gas Prices Force People To Start Using Their Heads

This is an excerpt from a recent Autoweek article.

Rising fuel prices are prodding the U.S. market toward smaller, European-style cars and forcing automakers to consider much more efficient engines, industry executives agreed here last week.

While Hurricane Katrina caused a spike to the $3-plus per gallon range in the United States, it was the steady climb in gasoline prices in the months preceding the killer storm that caught the attention of automakers.

In a market that was up 3.8 percent overall in August, sales of the biggest SUVs and pickup trucks tanked.

Tom Purves, CEO of BMW of North America, says he already sees evidence of pump-price-influenced shopping - at the company's Mini brand. "I can't tell you I have any hard evidence," Purves said. "But I can tell you that in the last month, Mini dealers have been inundated on Saturdays by SUV owners saying, 'I've had enough of this.'

You can read the rest of the article here.