Big SUV Sales Slump In April - Detroit Pumps Up Incentives

"Sales of full-size sport-utility vehicles tumbled last month, and sales of some smaller, more fuel-efficient SUVs boomed in what could be a sign that higher fuel prices are hurting automakers' high-profit models.

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A one-month slump is hardly a sales trend. Still, automakers have slapped more generous incentives onto trucks the past few days. Showing how skittish automakers are, Dodge (DCX) just began offering rebates up to $4,500 on its Durango SUV — even though it's a new design and sales are up, not down. Durango is sized between mid- and full-size SUVs and competes with both. It is significant that the hottest-selling big Detroit SUVs cooled in spite of hefty rebates, and that top Japanese brands also had trouble.

Chevrolet (GM) Tahoe, the best-selling full-size SUV, was down 11.9% from April 2003, according to sales tracker Autodata. No. 2, Ford Expedition, was off 33.6%, and No. 3, Chevy Suburban, was down 20.7%. Cadillac Escalade, such a pop-culture icon that it's mentioned in hip-hop music, was off 16.3%, Autodata says.

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Other measures of popularity also showed trouble:

• Full-size SUVs sat on dealer lots 68 days last month compared with just 50 days a year ago, according to data analyst Power Information Network.

• Inventories of unsold big SUVs rose to about 100 days' supply in April. That's about 30 days above normal, says Gary Lapidus, auto industry analyst at Wall Street investment house Goldman Sachs. "Light-truck inventories are bloated across the board," he says."

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I live on a budget plus I think I am cheap.

That's one damn long month!