During 2008, North American motorists discovered an international reality that we had been held safe from for over thirty years. Gasoline costs money. Rising fuel costs actually impacted North American motorists and we flooded the dealerships searching for vehicles that were more economical to operate.
The result of this panic was an endless supply of SUV’s for a fraction of their apparent value. No one would buy them new or used, at any price. By summer, automakers and dealers had become overstocked with large luxo-barges as consumers opted for more fuel-efficient vehicles. Hybrid sales boomed, as did sales of smaller cars and lighter trucks. We were all singing the praises of the new generation of green vehicles (not the Verde Ithaca green of the LP560 above, mind you) and we began to purchase these regardless of the premium they commanded over their less green alternatives. Then, something odd happened, fuel prices fell about 15%, then 50%. With this perhaps temporary adjustment in fuel pricing, our interest in the new Eco-Box automobiles subsided.
This raises an interesting question. Which shade of green are we really interested in; the green in our wallets or the green in our environment?