Check out these statistics from a Boston.com article published this weekend:

In April, the average used SUV took more than 66 days to sell, at a 20 percent discount from vehicle valuation books, such as Kelley Blue Book, compared to 48 days and a 7.8 percent discount a year earlier, reported CNW Marketing Research, an automotive marketing research company.

And, as gas prices continue to rise, some people are clearly panicking:

Last July, 20-year-old Sannan Nizami, of Lowell, bought a 2007 Toyota 4Runner SUV for $32,000 when it cost about $65 to fill the tank. Six months later, as a gallon of gas soared to $3.50 and more, and tank refills climbed over $80, Nizami put the vehicle up for sale. He posted it online for $27,000 but received no responses for months. Frustrated and unable to afford prices at the pump, Nizami last month turned over the Toyota to a dealer who only sells vehicles from private owners. Nizami is still paying the $450 loan but now is bumming rides to work with a cousin and worrying about making enough from the sale to cover the car loan. "I didn’t think gas would shoot up this much. I’m willing to take a hit just to take the pressure off," Nizami said. "I’ll probably get a really cheap Camry or Corolla. Something that gets more than 18 miles to the gallon."

Aside from the obvious question of why this guy thought he could afford to buy a new 4Runner in the first place, maybe he should do some math before he panics. That "cheap Corolla" might get, what, 30mpg? If he drives 15,000 miles per year that means that he will save a whopping $1,200 per year at the current gas prices. If gas goes up to $5 per gallon, the savings would be around $1,700 per year. But does it make sense to take such a massive hit right now by selling the 4Runner and buying another car (which, of course, includes paying sales tax)? And that doesn’t even bring into consideration some modest mods he could do on his 4Runner to make it more fuel efficient.

A man in New Zealand was sitting peacefully on the can when and SUV rolled down a hill and crashed into his house, violently unseating him. A contractor working on the property next door had parked the vehicle at the top of the hill without setting the e-brake properly, and it rolled away when left unattended. Asked about how the contractor might feel about the incident, the shaken homeowner replied: "What about me? I got knocked off the toilet. I got a hell of a fright." Making matters worse, the poor guy is in the middle of trying to sell his house. Sucks to be him!

Generally, bad reviews of anything—records, restaurants, cars—are just more entertaining. Even when people are just saying, and not even hating, commentary which tears a product, or person, to shreads makes for pretty compelling copy. Why do you think buying a 12-pack of High Life without seeing a picture of Britany Spears is unlikely? But leave it to Consumer Reports to do the impossible, as the magazine’s list of 2008′s 11 worst cars is as boring as you’d expect from the consumer advocates. Reading this list is only slightly more gripping than reading my mother’s recipie for corn chowder. And I really didn’t like how the reviews dismissed off-road performance, then proceeded to trash a bunch of off-road vehicles. Bravo y’all!  Of course, domestics make up the lion’s share of the field, but there are also a couple of foriegn marques in the mix. What do you think about this list? 

We were stoked to find that our buddies over at Jalopnik have discovered a G-rated version of the parking-retaliation merchandise we’ve talked about here before. What the cheery illustrated stickers available at IParkLikeAnIdiot lack in, um, colorful language, they make up for with the fact that they involve defacing the offender’s vehicle. You see, the stickers can’t be ordered in batches of fewer than 20, suggesting that typical customers aren’t exactly purchasing the novelties for display on their own vehicles, if you catch my drift. This aligns the business with guerrilla vehicle-stickering campaigns of the past, such as the one a few years back that encouraged people to plaster the most oversized SUV’s with stickers that read, "I’m changing the climate, ask me how!"  While a lot of you have agreed that incompetent parking makes you see red, particularly when someone else’s crappy parking job endangers your vehicle, I’m wondering if you think it’s ever justifiable to smack a sticker on someone’s ride. Maybe if it keeps you from keying them?

The public’s hyperbolic revulsion for Pontiac’s awkward SUV is finally taking its toll: only 25 "new" Aztecs were sold in 2007. This is qualified by the fact that the Aztek ceased production in 2005—the vehicles sold are just the lonely remnants, sitting on dealer lots for years, that sales staff have been unable to unload. I wonder how many are left? Catch the story at edmunds.

While we’ve been (ahem) "horsing around" this week with rumors of an upcoming Ferrari SUV or crossover, it turns out that a long-roof Ferrari isn’t in fact that far-fetched a possibility. Vandenbrink Design, a coach-builder in the Netherlands that specializes in high-dollar conversions of ultra-exclusive exotics, reportedly has a wagon version of Ferrari’s 612 Scaglietti in the works. Named the Shooting Break, this ultra-hot wagon will likely be powered by a tweaked version of the 739 hp Enzo V12. Personally I think it could be kind of hot if Vandenbrink offered a funeral-coach package with solid rear panels and landau bars; it’d surely give even the Harold and Maude Jag-hearse a run for its money. Well, which Ferrari concept would you drive: the SUV we ran on Monday, or this sleeker, super-powered wagon?

These Ferrari SUV rumors will not go away. I hope they’re just rumors. The Lambo LM002 was kind of cool, but I don’t think the world needs another Cayenne. In fact, I don’t think the world needs any Cayennes. More at Auto Express.

Do you think Ferrari should be building SUVs?

I keep expecting these old Jeeps to take off in value, but  it seems like you can still pick up nice ones for cheap. Bradford’s Grand Wagoneer (below) has one my favorite color combos–white with the woodgrain. I also really dig the old two door Cherokees like Bryan’s. And Phil’s Cherokee is gorgeous. So are these classic American SUVs going up in value? This guy seems to think so.

Someone over at VWVortex posted the best shots I’ve seen yet of the 2009 Forester. It definitely grew a bit–the popular wagon is almost SUV-like now. The official debut is less than a week away. More pics at VWVortex.

Blacked-out wheels or blacked-out interior? Land Rover or H2? For this week’s Face Off, we’ve got two tricked-out monster SUV’s on the block. Since only one of these hulks will come away with a super-huge set of low-pros from Discount Tire, be sure to get your votes in now!