According to a recent J.D. Power and Associates Power Information Network (PIN) consumer
survey, rising fuel costs have caused some owners of large and midsize light trucks to
trade down to smaller vehicles.As gas prices rise, owner loyalty in the large pickup and
midsize and large utility-vehicle segments drops, according to PIN data gathered between
February and April 2007.
Owner loyalty is measured by the percentage of owners in any given
segment who trade for another vehicle in the same segment. Not every vehicle segment has
been hit by rising fuel prices. PIN results found that owner loyalty for large and midsize
autos, small crossovers and small SUVs has remained relatively unchanged in recent months.
