All About Cars

“What’s it gonna take to put you in this car today?” The answer to this familiar saleman’s question, for hybrid car buyers anyway, is to wait until tomorrow.

Demand for the gas- and electrical-powered vehicles continues to outpace supply as rising gas prices reach new highs — $4.19 last week in the metro-east.

At Meyer Honda in O’Fallon, orders for the Honda Accord, Honda Fit and Honda Civic — both hybrid and nonhybrid models — are back-ordered for three to four months. Some models can get as much as 30 miles or more per gallon.

“Expect to wait,” said Meyer Honda sales representative Dave Pusa. “Demand is really unbelievably high.”

Newbold Toyota Scion, also in O’Fallon, is also waiting on orders. Manager Jim Leist has sold a number of Toyota hybrid models, especially the Toyota Prius.

“I get several hits daily on the Prius as well as those coming through the door asking questions and placing orders for a Prius,” Leist said. “We’re probably waiting on 30-plus orders now and take more everyday. There is very high demand for the cars right now.”

The Prius continues to lead online automobile sales tracker cars.com’s list of top new-car searches. Eight of the top 10 are Toyota and Honda models in addition to the Nissan Altima and Ford Mustang.

“Obviously, what we’ve expected is anytime gas prices spike in the summertime, there is a pick up on the search for more fuel-efficient vehicles,” said cars.com spokesman Steve Nolan. “This summer is even more so.”

“We cannot keep them on our lot,” Leist said. “They sell so quickly.”

Rusty Wagner doesn’t have many hybrids at his Wagner Buick-Pontiac-GMC in Belleville, but he said customers are still coming in to buy more fuel-efficient cars — such as the Buick Lucerne, Buick Lacrosse, Pontiac Vibe and Pontiac G6 — over traditional gas-suzzlers.

“There has definitely been an influx of new vehicle interest rather than in trucks or SUVs,” Wagner said. “We’re still selling trucks and SUVs, but not the volume we were before.”

Across Illinois 15, Oliver C. Jospeh Chrysler-Dodge has also been selling more Dodge Calibers, Dodge Avengers and Chrysler Sebrings — models that get more miles per gallon.

Jamie Auffenberg said compact and sub-compact cars are in greater demand at the numerous metro-east dealerships he owns. He said he has seen demand in a number of models — the Nissan Altima, Nissan Centra, Nissan Versa, Nissan Rogue, Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Cinada, Kia Spectra, Kia Rio, Kia Sportage, Mitsubishi Lancer, Jeep Patriot and Ford Escape.

“It seems that everyone is buying (for) fuel mileage,” Auffenburg said, “there’s no question.”

A recent survey by cars.com affirms that more consumers are pursuing more fuel-efficient vehicles as $4-a-gallon gas prices seem to be here to stay. The poll revealed that 85 percent of consumers said fuel prices are prompting them to look for cars that don’t require as many trips to the pump. Of those, 28 percent said they would buy a more fuel-efficient car immediately, and 57 percent said they would buy one they next time they purchase a car.

“It’s obvious hybrids and anything that is more fuel-efficient have gained popularity on the site,” Nolan said. “Honda Civic, Honda Fit, as well as other vehicles popular for years are also very fuel-efficient, like the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic non-hybrid.”

But there is a new competitor this summer that is also ringing up sales. Over the past six months, a new super-compact car import has ramped up sales across the United States with its 41-miles-per gallon in-city and 47-miles-per-gallon highway performance.

Known as Smart Cars, these two-seaters are made in France by Mercedes and have an engine manufactured by Mitsubishi that sell for between $12,000 and $18,000. These vehicles are about half the length of a typical four-door sedan, use about half the gas and have been available across Europe for the past 15 years.

But there are only a limited number of Smart Car dealerships in the United States. The only one around here is across the river in Creve Coeur, Mo., at Plaza Motor Co., located at 11830 Olive St. Road. Plaza Motor Co. spokesperson Marissa Zouglas said the dealership is the only one between Chicago and Kansas City and has been placing hundreds of orders from consumers throughout Iowa and Illinois.

“They are great cars,” Zouglas said. “They are the wave of the future.”