All throughout the country gas prices, now at $4 a gallon, are increasingly thinning the herd of brand new trucks and SUVs, banishing them to cramped dealer lots. Full-size SUVs, typically powered by massive V8 engines, have been particularly hurt by the upward-sloping cost of petrol.

According to CNN, sales figures for trucks and SUVs are collectively down 24.8 percent for the first quarter of 2008. Sales of SUVs have been especially disappointing, plummeting some 32.8 percent during the same time period. Consequently, this latest trend is having a shocking effect on the value of these vehicles. The report points out that once-$40,000-plus luxury SUVs are now worth merely half that and that their owners hoping to sell may be in for a bitter surprise.

"When they find out what you think their truck is worth, they think you're trying to rip them off or something," says Jorge Fernandez, a California-based wholesale auto dealer with 20 years of experience. "Small cars are gone within a week; SUVs are sitting here since last summer. It's amazing. I've never seen it this bad -- ever."