www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/11/30/gas_prices.reut/index.html
FINANCING Americans drive less for first time in 25 years Higher gas prices cut not only sales of SUVs, but also time spent on the road: study. jpg RESEARCH A NEW CAR Get invoice and market prices, specs, reviews and photos.
Research All Used Cars HOUSTON (Reuters) -- High gasoline prices not only slowed fuel demand growth and cut sales of gas-guzzling vehicles in 2005, they also prompted Americans to drive less for the first time in 25 years, a consulting group said in a report Thursday. The group's 2007 edition of "Gasoline and the American People" shows the US romance with automobiles is changing, but not ending, due to tighter environmental rules, expanded fuel options, such as ethanol and biodiesel, and an aging of the population, CERA said in a news release. The share of US household budgets going to gasoline and oil has has been relatively stable for decades, at 38 percent in 2006, compared with 34 to 36 percent in the 1960s, due to low fuel taxes and improved vehicle efficiency, the report said. Miles driven per motorist was down partly because there are more elderly people driving, and they tend to drive less, the report said. Average annual miles per vehicle also declined last year, from 11,946 to 11,856. That number for cars is smaller than average miles per motorist because there are more cars than licensed drivers in the United States, 1,148 per thousand, CERA said. Growth in US demand for gasoline slowed from an average 16 percent per year between 1990 and 2004 to 03 percent in 2005 and 1 percent in 2006, the report said. Sales of vehicles with lower gas mileage "have begun to slump, with monthly, seasonally adjusted sales reportedly declining nine of the 12 months ending September 2006," CERA said. "Weakness is most pronounced for the heavier class of SUVs." The report said sales of minivans and sport utility vehicles peaked at 56 percent of all vehicles sold in 2004, but slipped to less than 55 percent in 2005 and 53 percent so far this year.
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