Have You Ditched Your Roomy Ride for a Smaller Car?

The full-size non-luxury car market, which includes vehicles like the Ford Crown Victoria commonly used as police cruisers, has been on the decline since the 1970s. But in the past five years, these cars denoted by their extra-long bodies have lost more than half of their share of the market. Today, they make up just 2.3 percent of all new vehicles sold, according to an analysis of the market by Polk.com.

Drivers are looking for better fuel efficiency, makes and models are being discontinued, and dealers are phasing out full-size non-luxury cars from the showroom. 

Gone are the days of the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis. Now, the only large non-luxury cars available are the Impala, 300, Charger, Taurus, Azera, Maxima and Avalon.

Meanwhile, consumers are opting for more modestly-sized vehicles. Midsize non-luxury cars now account for 16.7 percent of the industry — an increase from 13.4 percent five years ago. 

Have gas prices prompted you to make a car switch? Let us know in the comments.

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