Sales of SUVs and Trucks Down

No. 4 (tie) Most Fuel-Efficient 2008 Vehicle
No. 1 (tie) Most Fuel-Efficient 2008 SUV

Fuel Economy
City: 34 mpg
Highway: 30 mpg

Fuel Cost:
25 Miles: $2.33
Per Year: $1,399

Annual Carbon Output:
5.7 tons

Photo: Ford

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Drooping sales of SUVs and trucks led a 6.3% plunge in year-over-year car sales in February, typically a good month with Presidents Day sales.

Not surprisingly, the Detroit automakers that have staked their profits so heavily in big gas guzzling behemoths suffered the most, according to USA Today, but even small car-minded Toyota saw sales slip almost 3%. Honda and Nissan both saw sales increase.

With the cost of gas likely to follow the record price of oil ever higher, the trend in SUV and truck sales is likely to be long-lived, unless more fuel-efficient models come on the market.

Small sedans, meanwhile, sold well, with sales rising 5%, according to USA Today.

The trend toward bigger cars with worse and worse fuel economy is probably coming to an end. Congress has mandated the first increase to fuel economy standards in a generation, and oil prices have topped, if briefly, the high-point of the 1980 energy crisis.

While economic hardship is hardly the preferred method to energy efficiency, it is a reminder that going green can save money.

Before you buy a car, review the EPA's list of most fuel-efficient model year 2008 vehicles, and remember that buying a used car can save you money off the bat, and older models often are as efficient, or more efficient than this year's models.

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