I see people every day purchasing small,slow,more fuel efficiant vehicles, or the recent HYBRID vehicles ( part electric/part gas ) to try to beat the constant rise in gasoline prices. These same people are trading in their SUV,s  (sport utility vehicles) such as YUKON,SUBURBAN,EXPEDITION,EXCURSION,SIENNA,ESCALADE,S ECT...Being these vehicles, are not only not the best on gas mileage ,but flooding the local dealerships. Makes the trade-in value $  5,000 to $ 8,000 lower than it normally would be. Most people dont seem to mind ,or at least were somewhat expecting a loss of some type.                                                                              Instead of the expected excitement of a new car ,the 1st thing I hear is "theres sure not much room in here for my golf clubs" or "what are we going to do about soccer practice there.s no room for all the kids". Not only did they give up room ,but they gave up protection in the event of an acident,the luxury and comfort of a larger vehcle,and that safe confident feeling as we drive on these "80 mph flow of traffic" freeways.                         This is where I have to think if this was really the best choice to beat the inflated gas prices ?     LETS SOME THIS UP TOGETHER NOW!    I,m going to lose 5 to $8,000 on my trade in that I have come to take for granted of it,s size & comfort.               I,m going to pay top dollar for this undersized,under powered,cracker jack box. of a car.             And last but not least, how much will I save over the next " we,ll say"  2 years, in gas prices?        WELL, if my math is accurate---(-the YUKON this gentleman traded in gets 16 mpg in city and around 20 mpg on long freeway trips which is awesome for a v-8 SUV. The new Hybrid he bought gets 22 on the freeway but a whooping 28mpg on the streets (so far anyway)        Taking in to consideration his driving habits and distance to work every day we came up with a total savings of 10 gallons of gas a week (approx $31.00)      ABOUT   $ 1550.00 PER YEAR..   It appears its going to take a good 5 years just to make up the deficit of the money lost on the trade in alone, not to mention the hefty price he paid for that Hybrid.                                                                                  THE MORAL TO MY STORY IS "the best advise I could give you is hold off on those thoughts of another car and inquire at your local dealer about what you can do to get a couple more mpg out of your existing vehicle. After all you know where its been and how well its been taken care of.
                                           Happy Trails, ebay member/master certified automotive advisor