GM SUV sales to soar to 51% over last year

[douglask]

Size is key. General Motors expects 2005 Middle East sales of its nine-seat GMC and Chevrolet Suburbans and its lumbering GMC Yukon and Chevy Tahoe to soar to 51% over last year, pushed by frantic sales in the biggest regional market - Saudi Arabia.

General Motors, Ford and Nissan all reported big October sales declines in America last week, with four-wheel-drives taking the biggest hit. Sales of the Ford Explorer, Lincoln Navigator, GMC Yukon, Hummer H2 and Toyota Land Cruiser were all down by 50% or more. High oil prices were cited as a chief reason.

But in one of the auto industry's great ironies, the same oil price rise is driving four-wheel-drive fever in the Gulf. Oil revenues in the six GCC countries are expected to reach almost $300 billion this year, up from just $61 billion in 1998.

As oil wealth trickles into every aspect of life there, GCC governments subsidise petrol prices. There are few places where owning a car is so inexpensive.

In the Emirates, a gallon of petrol costs $1.70 (44 cents a litre). In Saudi Arabia, petrol costs about a dollar a gallon (25 cents a litre), and in Kuwait, the price is about 83 cents per gallon (21 cents a litre).

In the United States last week, the average pump price was $2.48 per gallon (64 cents a litre).

> Full Article Edited November 26, 2005 by douglask

[Newbiewar]

Where is this guy buying gas? It was $1.94 a gallon in Saint Cloud today.

[post="48935"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

its says average price...

its 2.50 here still in Los Angeles

[2005 EquinoxLS]

$2.21 here in Northeast Wisconsin.

[Cremazie]

When I left Edmonton Friday gas was going at 71.5 a litre, here on the east coast it's still rape at 100.9 a litre.

[Cadillacfan]

$2.40 in Buffalo. When gas hit it's peak over the summer, this region had the 2nd highest gas prices in the US. Thanks New York state and Erie county taxes!!!!!

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

We're back down to $2.01 here in NC

[aaaantoine]

In some gas stations on Long Island, the price is about 2.25 and slowly, steadily declining. America is getting its cars from Japan and fueling them with oil from the Middle East. The only Americans making money off of this are the mechanics and salespeople, and the occasional non-union, American-based line worker.