America's Summer Vacations: Tight Budgets and Ford Hybrids

(MoneyWatch)  The summer driving season has started, and vacation planning is underway. From the results of a new poll, it looks like Americans will be driving to their destinations in smaller cars and trucks, and they'll be camping, fishing and backpacking locally instead of skiing at Gstaad and staying in luxury hotels.

LeaseTrader.com polled 1,500 consumers about their plans in its Summertime Vehicle Recreation Survey, and one of the more intriguing findings was that the Ford Escape Hybrid is the car most frequently cited as vacation transportation.

According to John Sternal, a LeaseTrader vice president, the Escape Hybrid "is not a very expensive vehicle in its category, and people are really paying attention to sticker price. And it certainly has not only high fuel economy numbers but also a lot of room for people to pack in their recreational gear."

Other cars frequently cited are the Volkswagen Tiguan SUV (a step down from the big Touareg) and the Mazda CX-9, which Sternal cites as a "dependable, quality crossover." The poll results square with a public souring on large, gas-guzzling body-on-truck-frame SUVs. And the numbers show a majority, 63 percentm moving to vehicles that are 10 to 20 percent less expensive than what they would normally have spent.

"The recession is definitely a factor and people are cutting back," Sternal said. "Options are narrowing, and foreign golf vacations or trips to the Caribbean are not as attractive anymore."

Some people are probably just staying home. A Deloitte survey predicts that 64 percent of Americans will take some form of summer vacation, but an AP-GfK poll was much less optimistic, estimating that only 42 percent would take a leisure trip this summer, down from 49 percent cited in a similar May 2005 poll.

LeaseTrader's business, passing on what are often distressed car leases to third parties through the Internet, is booming in the recession. Sternal said the firm helped facilitate 40,000 leases in 2008, and is on track for 60,000 this year. "A lot of that is being driven by economic conditions," Sternal said.

According to LeaseTrader CEO Sergio Stiberman, "Taking over an existing vehicle lease helps people be mindful of changing family budgets and lets them still enjoy summer with a fun car."

Not having a down payment or interminable lease periods certainly helps. In the survey, respondents expressed a preference for a lease with only six to 10 months remaining.

Flickr photo/Colorado Luis