Big-Car Blues

Nobody loves a gas hog

For years, the great American promise was not a chicken in every pot but a big car in every garage. No more. With fuel prices edging into three digits, buyers have been thinking less about class and more about gas. As a result, car lots are clogged with 2 million unsold autos, many of them yesterday's glamorous giants, and dealers have become desperate.

In Andover, Mass., an agency has been giving free $4,500 Chevettes to buyers of $18,000 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritzes. In San Francisco, a dealer has advertised Dodge vans at a penny above the factory invoice price. In Fairfax, Va., a Chrysler-Plymouth agency offered car buyers a minimum trade-in allowance for anything on four wheels. Said the firm ads: LET'S MAKE A DEAL! ROLL IT IN! TOW IT IN! $800. Nonetheless, salesmen across the country are having more trouble moving big cars these days than at any time since the recession of 1975.

Some sellers of used big cars are faring even worse. In Atlanta, Pat and Karen Meagher first advertised their 1977 Cougar XR-7 for $5,000 last April, then reduced the price twice, down to $3,995. Still no takers. Said Karen: "We are making payments on the car. We can't afford to give it away."

Many owners are doing just that--to charities in exchange for tax deductions. Boston's Morgan Memorial used to receive one car a year. Now it is taking in at least one a day, and frequently two or three. The cars are mostly large cars like Oldsmobiles and Buicks, which the charity sells for nominal sums, usually about $200. It is not complaining. Said Spokeswoman Elaine Lewis: "It takes a lot of used clothing to bring in $200." One of Los Angeles' Salvation Army divisions, which is housed in a former Ford factory, accepted eleven gift cars one week, including a 1941 Cadillac and a 1970 Coupe de Ville with power steering, power windows and power brakes. The latter was owned by a middle-aged doctor, who walked in one morning and asked General Supervisor Richard Hilt: "Do you want this car?" Recalled Hilt: "When I said yes, he gave me the keys and a check for $100."

Some less charitable owners are leaving their cars in high-crime neighborhoods in hopes that the gas hogs will be stolen, so that they can collect insurance for them. In Boston, car thefts for the first three months of this year were up 44% over the same period last year. In New York City, police estimate that one-third of all auto thefts involve insurance fraud. At the same time, police believe that owners of fuel-efficient cars should take extra precautions against thieves. Said New York City Detective Philip Crepeau: "Like anybody else, the thieves go where the market is."

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