The uptick is welcome news for automotive retailers whose sales reached a near-standstill after the Wall Street crash of mid-September. It also is a sign that some consumers are rolling the dice again on vehicles that, just a few months ago, they decried as impractical.
"Americans don't want to drive little cars," said Sophia Koropeckyj, a senior economist and auto-markets analyst with Moody's Economy.com in West Chester. "They really prefer larger vehicles, and gas prices have receded more than half since the summer. That's the only conclusion there is."
Even though there is "a general belief that gas prices won't stay as low as they are," she said, consumers have been emboldened.
"In Florida, you can buy two pickup trucks for the price of one," she said.
Ford dealers in the region say employee pricing and rebates since mid-November have sparked interest in pickups and more fuel-efficient crossover SUVs. Sales of the Focus and Fusion, small cars popular in the summer, are cooling off.
"Nothing is selling briskly," said Kerry T. Pacifico, who owns Pacifico Ford at Philadelphia's airport auto mall. Bigger models are "selling better than they did six months ago."
Contractors and other laborers who held off on replacing their trucks as the economy soured have come out of the woodwork to capitalize on discounts on Ford's ever-popular F-150 pickup, dealers said.
A lower-end 2008 F150 that lists at $20,900 can be bought for as low as $15,083 with employee pricing, Pacifico said. A similar model last year would have sold for $17,500, off a $20,000 sticker price.
Buyers are snapping up large pickups and midsize SUVs for home use, too. But the pace remains far below heyday levels.
