For a long time things were simple. Car or truck. Then the corporate acronyms kicked in. SUV, CUV, SAV, MAV, LAV just to name a few. If you don’t know what they all mean, don’t worry about they are all pretty much the same thing. Now there is a new one coming which will probably catch on due to the gas issues we are all facing.

A Lifestyle Truck is a unibody construction similar to a passenger car but with a utility bed capable of carrying more than a car but only half of a traditional pick up. This is nothing new. The El Camino did it back in the fifties and even the Model T had a pick up like version. Since fuel prices were never an issue consumers wanted the big in your face trucks on the roads today. Now that those consumers can’t afford a $100 fill up there ego’s are coming in check.

The Hoda Ridgeline was the most recent production car/truck to come out. The styling isn’t very enticing hence the slow sales, but the functionality of the vehicle is incredible. Other automakers have taken notice coming out with there own versions of these Lifestyle Trucks. The most recent being Toyota and GMC.

The question is…..will any of these features or designs be enticing enough to buyers. Mileage seems to be the only thing on people’s mind nowadays, and the lack of money to buy a new 30+ thousand dollar vehicle.

Now that trucks will be turned into little fuel sipping girls what else will change in the market? Will Americans actually start buying ….station wagons and hatchbacks? Is that the next step for the CUV craze?

It is an interesting time for the auto industry and no clear answer is in the future. Whoever can bring out a fuel efficient, spacious interior, with nice materials/craftsmanship, interesting design for a price that people (middle class) can afford will be rolling in it. Of course that is a lot to ask for which has not been delivered too often in the past.

So bring on the new niches, vehicle segments to skew consumers perceptions of what they are driving. In the end it will still just be a car, truck or……minivan.