XPost: rec.travel.air, alt.travel   
   From: charliec1_nospam@excite.com   
      
   nobody  wrote in news:4002451D.422EF10E@nobody.com:   
      
      
   >   
   > That may be a good thing to motivate the americans to start ditching   
   > the SUVs and other oil gobbling devices and start being serious about   
   > the environment.   
   >   
      
   Actually SUV sales are down in the US while they represent the largest   
   growing auto segment in Europe.  Also, while Europeans critisize the U.S.   
   for driving SUVs they sure don't have any problems *selling* them to   
   America.  Porche's Cayenne represents a third of it's entire sales (BMW,   
   Mercedes and Volkswagon all offer popular SUV models as well).  If Europe   
   had some kind of collective morality and REALLY cared about the U.S. gobling   
   up fossil fuels then why don't they limit their offerings to economy cars?   
   Obviously because they wouldn't sell which indicates those automakers care   
   more about profit than the environment.   
      
   I know that Chevy and Ford are all planning hybrid SUVs and other vehicles   
   in the next model year.  Are Porche, BMW or Mercedes planning on similar   
   offerings?  (Actually I think Mercedes has hydrogen powered cars - good for   
   them!  But until we can figure out a cheap way to actually produce hydrogen   
   in mass quantaties, hydrogen powered vehicles are a ways off.)   
      
   If Europe's collective economy continues to improve and the Euro remains a   
   strong currency, Europeans are going to start consuming on scales just as   
   large as the United States.  American's don't consume more because they're   
   evil, they consume because they have money (lots of it).  As the buying   
   power of Europeans increases, they will start to consume just as much (if   
   not more) then the U.S.  Just watch.  Most people are the same everywhere   
   motivated by the same personal wants and desires.   
      
      
   From Time.com   
      
   "While the mini — the very compact car made for narrow Old World streets —   
   is having a rebirth in the U.S., Europeans are showing a growing preference   
   for gas-guzzling SUVs, which were designed for open back roads and Wal-Mart   
   parking lots. While new car sales in Europe were down 4% in the first half   
   of 2002 compared with the same period last year, SUV sales there were   
   already up 9%. But there's no denying those skinny streets, so Europeans   
   usually steer clear of the Suburbans and Expeditions. Toyota's RAV4, one of   
   the smaller SUVs on the market, is the biggest seller in Europe. To compete,   
   Ford recently rolled out a vehicle made specifically for the European   
   market. It's called the Fusion — a compact SUV look-alike that Ford has   
   dubbed an Urban Activity Vehicle."   
      
   http://www.time.com/time/globalbusiness/printout/0,8816,1101020902-   
   344025,00.html   
      
   From CNN.Com International   
      
   "The world's most profitable car maker said sales of its one-year-old   
   Cayenne sports utility vehicle had boosted revenues from August to November   
   to 1.92 billion euros ($2.29 billion), up 47 percent from a year ago."   
      
   http://edition.cnn.com/2003/BUSINESS/12/03/porsche.results.reut/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)