Russians laud size, not fuel economy at car show

By Simon Shuster

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fuel-guzzling trucks and sports utility vehicles took centre stage at the Moscow car show, flaunting the indifference of Russian buyers to fuel economy and climate change as they project growing wealth through their cars.

International carmakers, who premiered bigger and more powerful machines at the semi-annual event this year, seemed to grasp the prejudice against fuel-saving cars in Russia, where petrol prices are the same as in the United States but half the West European level.

Of the 14 Nissan models on display, eight were SUVs, while the three budget models were off in a corner by the bathrooms.

"It's not the Russian style to worry about fuel efficiency," said Maxim Karlyuk, the sales consultant manning the Nissan showroom.

"People want to go bigger. They want to go four-wheel-drive. They want to move up."

While the biggest and flashiest of the SUVs -- GM's Hummer -- was absent from the show, visitors on press day flocked to be photographed in front of GM's Jeep Grand Cherokee and other solid middle-class offerings.

Oil and gas exports have supported a decade of economic growth in Russia, helping to lift millions of Russians out of poverty and into the middle class. With most apartments having been privatized to them after the fall of the Soviet Union, the first big purchase they aspire to is a brand new car.

Accordingly, sales of foreign makes, much preferred to the local models associated with the Soviet past, grew 46 percent in January-July 2008.