June 2008 was a calamitous disaster for new-car sellers all the way, to tap a baseball term, around the horn.
Well maybe not at every base. Mid-size and crossover vehicles surprised auto executives and analysts alike, faring decently among a battlefield of gloom.
People Just Aren’t Buying
Autodata Corp., which monitors and reports on vehicle sales, noted that the month was one of the worst car-selling months in many years, with sales dropping 18.3% compared with the same month a year earlier.
Sales figures were shackled by a 28.4% decline in sales of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles – based of course on their poor fuel economy in this high-gas-price era.
You will hear about air bags, seatbelts, head restraint, stability control, rollover resistance, antilock brakes and more.
By the 2007 model year, only two compact minivans remained on the American market, the Mazda5 and the Kia Rondo, and in the years before that pickings were slim.
Chrysler announced in late June 2008 that it was teaming with eBay to list Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge certified pre-owned cars on the new eBay Motors’ Certified Pre-Owned Showroom.
Insure.com surveyed insurance rates from four of the nation’s biggest car insurers, in multiple ZIP codes across America, for a variety of vehicles.
It’s hard to increase sales when the target market doesn’t include men from the ages of 16-35. 
The thrust of the message to consumers is, “We want to help you save gas!”
“A rude awakening at U.S. gas pumps is leading owners of large cars to another rude awakening as they try to sell their cars”, UPI reported July 2.
Our question is this: Wait, isn’t the SUV dying a slow death due to high gas prices?
While Mercedes built a legacy of stylish, comfortable-to-ride-in luxury vehicles, the smart fortwo is appropriately named.