DETROIT — Even in northern Wisconsin, where midsize sport utility vehicles are as common as deer, people are starting to abandon them because of high gasoline prices.It's one of the last places to back away from the class of SUVs, which includes the once-popular Ford Explorer and Chevrolet TrailBlazer. Some industry analysts are already declaring the midsize SUV extinct. "They're dinosaurs. Put a fork in them," Erich Merkle, vice president of auto industry forecasting for the consulting company IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids, Mich., said in an interview.
It's no secret that drivers are flocking to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars as the cost of gas marches higher. And midsize SUVs are built on the same frames as trucks, which add extra weight and drink more fuel.