Survey Finds SUV Drivers Are Not Patriotic (90%)

[matcom]

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Ninety percent of people in the market say that people who buy SUVs should not be called patriotic.

Kelley Blue Book's third annual New-Vehicle Buyer Attitude Study found that over the last year the number who said SUV drivers are patriotic dropped 12 percentage points, the group said in a news release.

Also, the number of shoppers considering an SUV fell to 34 percent, the lowest level in three years. There was some grown in interest in small SUVs, however.

High fuel prices were cited in a news release as the reason for the lack of interest in larger vehicles. Thirty-seven percent also said they worry that big SUVs hurt the country by increasing dependence on foreign oil.

"Over the longer term the domestic car manufacturers will have to reconcile themselves to the fact that American consumers seem less enamored of big SUVs than any time in memory," said Kelley editorial director Jack R. Nerad.

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