The new Ford Fiesta - available used sometime next decade

The market for used fuel-efficient small cars is just as vital in the UK as it is in the U.S. these days. EurotaxGlass's, publisher of the Glass's Guide, has announced that values of big vehicles "continue to fall at above-average rates as growing numbers of UK motorists shift into smaller vehicles in an effort to lower their running costs." Those costs are a combination of fuel prices and higher taxes on dirty vehicles, which are often those same large vehicles. Here's a good quote from Adrian Rushmore, EurotaxGlass's managing editor: "The current economic climate has accelerated a trend of downsizing in all but the smallest used car segments." In other words, every time that drivers could possibly downsize, they do.

One upside for the UK economy: at least some cars are selling well.

[Source: EurotaxGlass's]

I'm sure there's a nifty formula floating around somewhere that can tell us precisely at what point it makes more sense to load up two smaller delivery trucks instead of packing a huge one full as heck and adding a trailer or two. But until we find and use that formula, I'll pass on the ideas from EurotaxGlass's Glass's Guide to Commercial Vehicle Values, which has come out with the recommendation that the popular (in Europe) 3.5 ton panel vans are not the most efficient models for delivery companies to use. George Alexander, Chief Commercial Vehicle Editor at EurotaxGlass's, says in a release that, "A mixed fleet, with a number of 3.5-tonners to tackle the big jobs and smaller vans being utilised where appropriate, might be a more suitable answer for many fleet managers. This approach would lower a company's initial financial outlay, result in stronger residual values, give drivers a pleasant working environment, use less fuel and bring operating efficiencies for well-run fleets."

Alexander's comment will be more difficult to swallow for companies that have already invested in larger trucks, but whoever out there is looking to increase the size of the fleet, don't forget about diversification to save fuel. Read the details after the break.

[Source: EurotaxGlass]

Yesterday I was out and about in town. I was biking – yes, through the snow – and about fell of my bike when I passed a gas station selling regular unleaded for $1.89. They not only had the price displayed on the corner sign like all gas stations, but they had a handwritten sign on the frozen lawn that included at least one exclamation point. They're right to hype this price; it's been a long time since gas sold for less than $2 a gallon here in Michigan.

Biking past a newspaper box, I saw the Detroit Free Press was saying this dip in prices won't last long. The big question is, will the dip be enough to revive SUV sales? Tim Higgins, writing in the Free Press, says that while the low gas prices may stick around for a few weeks, and some consumers are eyeing SUVs for purchase, the mindset in many potential buyers' minds is that these low gas prices won't stick around for long.

Over in Europe, where gas will never come close to $2 a gallon, sales of SUVs are about the same as they were last year, according to a new analysis released yesterday by EurotaxGlass. As things like congestion charges making driving an SUV much more expensive than a small car in Europe, EurotaxGlass sees this resulting in more diesel SUVs instead of a flight from these "Chelsea Tractors."

[Source: Tim Higgins / Detroit Free Press, EurotaxGlass]