Despite gas prices, some want trucks
FAYETTEVILLE - When Army 1st Sgt. Ronald Ferdinand wanted a new vehicle, he picked out the Ford F-150 Crew Cab.
"I have kids. It's big enough to get me where I want to go,” he said. “When I get on the highway, we can bring everything we need. It's pretty much what I wanted."
But with increasing gas prices, it's a surprising choice. The truck gets only about 18 miles per gallon on the highway.
But at Lafayette Ford in Fayetteville, many others are making the same surprising choice of large trucks with low gas mileage. And that’s made April the dealership’s best month of the year for truck sales. In fact, it had the third best truck sales among Ford dealerships in the state during the month of April.
"Actually we’ve gotten a call from a lot of other Ford dealerships in our marketplace, wanting to know what we're doing," said Jason Drake, Lafayette Ford’s general sales manager.
Despite increasing gas prices, consumers at Lafayette Ford in Fayetteville are purchasing trucks that get roughly 18 miles to the gallon. Some across the state are confused.
The higher sales go against the national trend. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, sales of medium and heavy duty trucks dropped 32 percent in 2007.
So what's the secret to Lafayette Ford's success? Drake says it’s soldiers.
"They've been so excited to get back and purchase this new vehicle that the gas prices really aren't affecting them."
Ronald Ferdinand says for him, it's just a matter of preference.
"When it comes to it, do I really want a little car that gets 30 miles to the gallon, or do I want something I'm going to pay for and actually want it."
At Lafayette Ford, he and many others are choosing the bigger trucks.