Pickup trucks are three of the Top Ten Selling Automobiles in the U.S.

I've written before about the Big Three Automakers bailout, and about their propensity to push pickup trucks and other high-margin vehicles on us. I think I wrote a thing or two about the "cash for clunkers" program, as well.

The Big Three are banking on our collective inability to remember things that happened more than three months ago. They continue to push pickup trucks and big SUVs on us. (Well, except for Hummer. GM finally pulled the plug on the Hummer brand after a Chinese buyer decided not to buy the division.) And although I hate to acknowledge the reality of it, the American public continue to buy pickup trucks.

Nobody seems to remember what happened to gasoline prices and truck/SUV sales in the summer of 2008: gas prices went way up, and truck/SUV sales went way down. Or perhaps they do remember, but either they don't care, or they have convinced themselves that it won't happen again. Hey, people! Summer's only three months away. Gasoline prices will jump again!

Pickups are especially prevalent here in the American West. Sometimes during my commute, I will count the number of pickups vs. SUVs vs. normal cars at an intersection in town. I'm amazed at the margin by which pickups outnumber normal cars, and SUVs outnumber both.

Okay, I would enjoy owning a pickup truck -- but I'm not willing to give up my commuter car for it. A pickup truck has its place, but it's not in the driveway or garage of a suburban home or on the dry, paved roads between home and work -- which is where most of them in this part of the American west spend most of their time.

And it's not necessarily in the mountains, either. In September 2008, I drove my little Saturn SL2 up a steep, rutted, gully-washed, mining road in the Rockies, to get to the Grays and Torreys Peak trailhead on the Continental Divide. I drove past a huge line of 4WD PUs and SUVs, all waiting for some brave soul to show them how to negotiate the road. After I went past, they all pulled in behind me and followed me up to the trailhead. After we had parked, several of the drivers approached me and told me that I was an inspiration to them: they weren't sure they could make it up the road until they watched me do it.

As for snow, well ... the missus and I still remember fondly a 60-mile drive to Denver in a snowstorm, when we counted 18 pickups, Jeeps and other 4WD vehicles -- and only 2 (two!) normal cars -- that had slid or spun off the interstate highway.

Executives and employees at the Big Three in Detroit have a derisive term for all of these pickup trucks they're selling: "air haulers." And I do mean derisive. They're glad to take your money, knowing full well that for 360 days out of the year, the bed of your pickup truck won't hold anything that couldn't fit into the trunk of a (smaller, cheaper, and more economical) Civic, Corolla, or even Impala.

Here is a list of the top ten selling automobiles in the United States in 2009, according to Reuters:

Rank	Make & Model	2009 Sales	2008 Sales	2008 Rank	% Change
1	Ford F-Series pickup	334,922	436,022	1	-23.2
2	Toyota Camry	285,069	379,270	3	-24.8
3	Chevrolet Silverado pickup	261,142	402,191	2	-35.1
4	Honda Accord	244,579	333,011	6	-26.6
5	Toyota Corolla	240,755	307,071	4	-21.6
6	Honda Civic	223,751	304,297	8	-26.5
7	Nissan Altima	169,435	241,529	9	-29.8
8	Honda CR-V	158,573	171,193	11	-7.4
9	Dodge Ram pickup	155,467	213,684	5	-27.2
10	Ford Fusion	148,045	128,381	20	+15.3

(I swiped the table from msn.com.)

Pickup trucks claim three of the top 10 slots, and two of the top 3 slots. Surprisingly, only one of the top 10 is an SUV, and it's not even a domestic SUV: the Honda CR-V. Japan's own Big Three have six of the top ten slots: three for Honda, two for Toyota, and one for Nissan. The only domestic non-truck vehicle that made the top 10 was the redesigned Ford Fusion, whose sudden rise in popularity vaulted it from 20th place to 10th place.

Now, I have some good friends who really do haul stuff in their pickup trucks, and they really do need their four-wheel-drive to get to where they're going. I say more power to them. One could even call them "legitimate" pickup truck owners. One of my friends has a beautiful old Dodge pickup. Most of the time, he uses it to haul old Dodge pickup truck parts. Like my dad said once, I'll buy a pickup truck when I have something to haul around in it.

Dear Congressperson or Senator: Say NO to the Big Three

I just wrote to my senators and congresspeople. I also wrote to the Speaker of the House, but I don' t think that she will read or heed my letter. Here's what I told them:

I have been watching the hearings in the Senate and the House. I want to ask you again to vote AGAINST the automotive bailout. As you have seen from the polls, the majority of Americans feel the same way I do.

1. Product line revisions -- too late. 2012?2013? That's three and four years down the road. And all that will do is put the automakers where Toyota and Honda were two years ago. There's an entrepreneur in San Jose CA already building full-sized electric cars, today. Why not give him the money instead?

2. Continued emphasis on trucks. We don't want trucks anymore. The F-150 pickup, which Ford boasts as the top-selling vehicle in the U.S. today, sold fine until June, I think, and sales have dropped to near-zero since then. WE DON'T WANT TRUCKS, and they ALL keep trying to sell trucks.

3. If these companies are too big to fail, then they're too big. NO corporation should have that much power in this country. Congress has stood up to oil, railroads and telecommunications in the past. Now it's time to stand up to the automakers. If they want to stay in business, then PLEASE cut them up, and turn them from the Big Three into the Little Nine or whatever. If it worked for AT&T, it can work for GM.

4. Utter lack of humility. I saw arrogance from Mr. Gettelfinger, and "strictly business" attitudes from the three CEOs. What they said in front of the Congressional panels mirrors what they say to all Americans. If you watch the automobile commercials on TV, you will see that they're just as arrogant and superior, appealing to Americans' egos and greed, as they've always been.

5. Economic impact. I don't deny the economic impact of the Big 3 going out of business, HOWEVER: the parts mfrs. also make parts for Toyota, Honda and Nissan, so although the parts mfrs. might be downsized, they won't go out of business. As for economic impact, today is my last day on the job. I am currently underemployed, and on Monday I will be unemployed. That has nothing to do with the Big 3, and their going under will not affect me one whit.

Please stick to your guns, honor the will of the American people, and vote AGAINST the bailout.

Regards
Ray Depew