@Stray Cat,
I've been asked increasingly frequently recently by random folks -- many of them SUV owners -- about how I like my Saturn Vue. Gets 30 mpg on the highway (4 cyl, body panels made of lightweight plastic), which is a little higher than the EPA estimates were. People seem to be responding well to that.
Hardly a status symbol, though. Used to have a Civic, but with 3 dogs (and the professional need to sometimes carry a dozen or so cat carriers at a time) we needed something bigger. The Vue was cheaper than a minivan or any comparable wagons.
I'm guessing the market's going to shift more toward the smaller car-based SUVs or actual trucks, depending on what the buyer needs it for.
Scooter sales have gone way up locally.