High gas prices impacting vehicle sales

Green Country families are feeling the pinch at the gas pump. <br/><br/>News on 6 anchor Tami Marler shows us how gas prices are affecting what consumers are choosing to drive. Gasoline prices are setting

Tuesday, August 30th 2005, 1:24 pm

By: News On 6

Green Country families are feeling the pinch at the gas pump.

News on 6 anchor Tami Marler shows us how gas prices are affecting what consumers are choosing to drive. Gasoline prices are setting new records every day and that has some folks re-evaluating their vehicle of choice.

Jim Glover with Jim Glover Chevrolet: "Actually July's been the biggest month we've had this year. It's been the biggest July we've had since we've been here, which is four years."

Even though gasoline prices set new records just about every day, Jim Glover says his dealership is thriving, while sales on SUVs and trucks are dropping in other parts of the country. "Most of the people trading in their Suburbans, Tahoes and larger sport utilities were still buying bigger sport utilities and we had a couple people telling us safety of your family is worth quite a bit. And when you factor in, if you're driving a 30 mpg, you're looking at about $130, $140 per month in gas. If you have an accident, you got a lot of value in that. That's what most of our customers have told us. And as you know, in Oklahoma, people use their sport utilities and trucks, and that's probably why Oklahoma's kind of propped up there."

The News on 6 visited Key Elementary School in Tulsa to talk with teachers and parents about the gas price crisis and how it affects real people in real places, their pocketbooks and household budgets. Kelly Vilner: "I still have an SUV and it still has good gas mileage and the price is obviously going up, but on a teacher's salary, we don't make a lot, so each week is a real cut on our budget.â€

Angela Schuller says gas prices have caused her and her family to make lifestyle changes. Her kids are going to have to squeeze into a smaller car. No more driving back and forth from home to activities. She plans her day so she doesn't go back home until she's run as many errands as possible.