Bicycle sales boom in US amid rising gas prices
Agency France Presse via Yahoo
More bicycles than cars have been sold in the United States over the past 12 months, with rising gas prices prompting commuters to opt for two wheels instead of four. Not since the oil crisis of 1973 have bicycles sold in such big numbers, according to Tim Blumenthal, executive director of Bikes Belong, an industry association.
"Bicycle sales are near an all-time high with 19 million sold last year -- close to the 20 million sold during the oil embargo in the early 1970s," said Blumenthal, whose association is based in Boulder in the western state of Colorado.
The US Chamber of Commerce says more bicycles have been sold than cars over the past 12 months. In a country where most of the population still relies heavily on cars, some 87 million people have climbed on a bike in the past 12 months, Blumenthal said. While less than car sales, bike sales generate about five to six billion dollars of business a year, he said.
Bicycles are back mainly because the sharp increase in gas prices has made them a practical alternative, said Paul Gaiser, owner of Scooter Commuter in Bethesda, Maryland. "Above all it's the higher price of gas, but also it's concern for the environment and the cost of another car," Gaiser told AFP. The average price of gas in the United States has increased 47.3 percent in a year, according to figures published last week by the American Automobile Association. Gaiser believes the bicycle trend is no passing fad.
"Our sales have quadrupled in the last two months," he said. "I think it's a major paradigm shift. It's here to stay."
Cyclists on the streets of the US capital agreed. ...
(1 October 2005)
Dramatic slump seen in US vehicle sales
Reuters via Yahoo
U.S. sales of new cars and trucks at the retail level appear to have fallen off the cliff in October, led by steep declines at General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., J.D. Power and Associates said on Friday.
A report from the industry tracking firm's closely watched Power Information Network cited a lack of high-impact incentives from major automakers, high U.S. gasoline prices, low inventory levels and an apparent pullback by consumers after exceptionally strong sales over the summer for the dramatic slowdown.
Retail new-vehicle sales were down 33 percent across the industry in the first nine days of October compared with the same period a year ago, the Power Information Network said. ...
(14 October 2005)
Happenin' hybrids: More high-tech cars cruise green Eugene
Tim Christie, Eugene Register-Guard (Oregon)
Some day, when vehicles that burn fossil fuel go the way of the dinosaur, 2005 may be remembered as the year when their extinction began in earnest.
Steadily rising gas prices last summer, and the spikes driven by hurricanes Katrina and Rita this fall, have prompted many motorists to look askance at fuel-slurping road hogs in favor of vehicles powered by gasoline-electric hybrid engines.
While hybrids represent a fraction of the vehicles on the road, demand for the high-tech cars has never been higher.
And in green Eugene, it seems at times a hybrid can be seen (not) idling at every stop light.
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