EclectEcon

It makes sense: As the price of gasoline rises, many people switch from buying large cars (and trucks and SUVs) to buying smaller cars. The result is that the price of small cars rises and the price of large cars plummets. This effect was first presented systematically by Ake Blomqvist and Walter Haessel in the Canadian Jl of Economics back in 1978 in "Small Cars, Large Cars, and the Price of Gasoline".

Now, thirty years later, we are seeing the same thing. From the Associated Press [h/t to Brian Ferguson],

``The small cars are very hard to get right now. The cars that were $5,000 are now $7,000,'' [said used-car dealer, Mike Haile].

In the past year, the average used small car price has gone up 2 percent, from $9,278 to $9,470, according to wholesale auto auction data collected by the National Automobile Dealers Association [NADA]. There's evidence that the prices are accelerating, according to recent data from J.D. Power and Associates.

Okay, so their numbers differ considerably, but they're in the same direction. And meanwhile,

The increases are in contrast to used full-size sport utility vehicles, whose prices have dropped $1,600 to $2,000 in the past year, said Paul Taylor, the NADA's chief economist. The average sale price of all used vehicles in the U.S. dropped 2.5 percent in the past year, the NADA reported.

If you don't drive much, and if you really want a big gas-guzzler, now might be a fun time to go shopping!