Chrysler Sales Soar, And Americans Clearly Don't Want Fuel Efficiency

New sales numbers show that Chrysler just had its best April in four years. The company sold over 141,000 vehicles last month — a 20% increase compared with sales in April 2011. Meanwhile, other major automakers fared less well — Ford and GM sales were down 5 % and 8.2%, respectively.

Interestingly, most of the sales growth came from trucks, midsize sedans, and Jeeps. Chrysler's line of compact vehicles sold the slowest.

Sluggish compact sales suggest that Americans don't want to buy more efficient cars, which is a trend I've highlighted before on PolicyMic. Case in point: the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt is failing to leave dealership lots, despite the government's vain attempt to create demand by giving the project over $3 billion in subsidy.

Evidently, Americans aren't ready to give up their gas guzzlers — perhaps the price at the pump will have to climb much higher than $4 before they want something more fuel-efficient.