I singled out Patrols & 'Cruisers since they are the most popular "serious" and thirsty 4WDs which get bought by urban breeders for people-moving duties as opposed to the soft-roaders which get bought by the same people but have very little actual off-road ability and are pretty much as economical as any regular family stationwagon.

I didn't make mention of any Landrovers but I do also consider the Discovery as a "serious", recreational, off-road peoplemover in the same category. I am not considering "utility" 4WDs (which includes the Defender) as they have a very different target market.

My point is, statistics may say that general 4WD sales are UP, but overall car sales are down. But are sales of "real" 4WDs up or just sales of car-alternative 4WDs? I imagine many families are still switching to 4WD 7-seat soft-roaders as they can be as economical as any other estate wagon or people-mover but have the added impression of safety and the more fun image of a go-anywhere vehicle. Besides, the baby bonus is still rewarding Australians for breeding and we have to carry the rug-rats around somehow.

I would expect that more and more people are going to be actually paying attention to those little red & green economy numbers on the windscreen of every new car and we should be seeing a trend away from the big petrol 4x4s. If not, then maybe people are either blind, stupid or earning too much.

END RANT.