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Toyota Dumps Highlander for Hybrid, Heralds Beginning of the End of the SUV
by Stacy Feldman - Jul 10th, 2008
in
America’s long love affair with the SUV is officially dead, it seems.
This morning, Toyota announced that it’s dumping plans to produce the Highlander SUV at its brand-new plant in Mississippi. Instead, the factory will churn out the next generation of Prius Hybrids.
The decision reflects the exploding demand for hybrids and the plummeting market for SUVs and trucks, said Toyota.
The company also announced that as of August 8, it will temporarily suspend the production of the Sequoia SUV and the Tundra pick-up -- along with the production of the V8 engines that power them.
And it's not alone. GM recently announced that it too is closing four truck plants and focusing on smaller cars for good, after total vehicle sales sank 18 percent in June. On top of that, it said it's considering selling off its Hummer brand, whose future is hanging by a thin thread.
But GM wasn't quite the worse performer in June. That honor belongs to Ford, which saw a drop in sales of 28 percent.
Meanwhile, US sales of the Toyota Prius took a giant hit of 26 percent in the month of June -- after dealers ran short of inventory and customer waiting lists grew to six months from its soaring popularity.
The writing's on the wall. Or the Web. Or most anywhere.
It really is the beginning of the end of an era for America, and its gas-hogging car habit.
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Love this news. SUVs are fuel monsters. But I hope its not the end of it. Hybrids nowadays are the focus of manufacturers. But they need to give attention on spare parts of the hybrid. Been looking for some jeep parts and its hard.
Thanks for sharing this news
When I saw this post on Twitter, my internal happy-meter went sky rocketing. I write eco-style blog Planet Pink n' Green - http://www.planetpinkngreen.com where we educate, inspire and celebrate all things eco-conscious. I'll share this with my readers. Keep up the great work --Cheryl Janis - Planet Pink n' Green - http://www.planetpinkngreen.com , Twitter: PPnG
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