Edwin Kirchgessner, an 85-year-old Everett resident, is taking a road trip to California this fall, and eventually a cross-country drive to Key West, Fla., where he served on naval submarines.

But his Ford van, outfitted with a kitchen and bathroom, will stay here. Instead, he'll make his journeys in a new, fuel-efficient Hyundai Elantra.

Now that prices average $2.39 in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area, with a fuel-tax increase on the way in July, he's quite happy about his choice.

"When you're retired, you only got so much money to play with," he said.

Mirroring a national trend, many car buyers in Washington are opting for more fuel-efficient vehicles:

• Pickup sales fell 4.6 percent in Washington in the first quarter of this year, compared with a year earlier, according to R.L. Polk data.

That trend seems to be escalating. Sales of pickups for personal use in the state, for example, were about 15 percent lower than in April of last year, a Seattle Times review of state registration data found.

• Buyers are waiting weeks or months for a new hybrid Toyota Prius because of high demand. Local dealers sold 395 of them new in April, compared with 135 a year ago, state data show. Sales of Honda's Civic hybrids grew slightly, while Ford sold 51 of its new Escape hybrid SUVs to Washington motorists. The state already ranked fourth in sales of gas-electric hybrids, behind California, Virginia and Florida.

• Fuel-efficient sedans are growing in popularity. Sales of the Toyota Corolla, rated at 38 mpg, are up more than a third in April compared with 2004, according to state registration figures. Other gas-thrifty models showing gains include the Ford Focus, Hyundai Sonata, Mazda 3, Nissan Sentra, Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Scion and Volkswagen Jetta.

• Overall sales of sport-utility vehicles fell 3 percent, both in Washington and nationwide, in the first quarter of this year, Polk found.

Gas-guzzling worries

In a national Harris Poll for Kelley Blue Book, 22 percent of vehicle buyers said gas prices changed their mind about which car model to buy. Only 31 percent said prices have little or no influence, one of the lowest levels ever recorded.

Kelley, which researches prices for cars and trucks, predicts the market will be "profoundly affected" if gas hits $3 a gallon.

Many local dealers say the shift is noticeable on the showroom floor.

Hyundai of Everett owner Gary Micallef said one recent buyer traded in a 1999 Lincoln Navigator for a new Hyundai Sonata in May, hoping to save $400 a month in fuel. The lot at Saturn of Lynnwood is full of late-model SUVs and pickups traded for a sedan or a Saturn Vue, a smaller sport-utility vehicle.

At Olympic Lincoln Mercury in North Seattle, sales manager Jim Bucy said purchases of larger vehicles are down 10 or 15 percent. To sweeten the deal, Lincoln dealers are offering $1,000 worth of gas with a new SUV.

One of those shopping for a fuel-thrifty car was Helen Roberts of West Seattle. Last week, she signed on to a waiting list at Seattle Toyota to buy a hybrid 2006 Toyota Highlander sport-utility, rated to get 33 miles per gallon in the city.

She's 111th in line.

Roberts wanted something bigger than the Audi she currently owns. A few weeks ago, she drove a 1990 Ford Ranger pickup. It was comfortable. Suddenly, a tall vehicle seemed like a good idea. But there's no way she would buy what she considered a big gas-only SUV, which she thinks is wasteful.

Gas costs were "very significant" but not the biggest issue, she said. "To me, I think a hybrid car sends a message, that we're looking for alternatives to being an oil-consumptive society," she said.

Indeed, Archie Witherell, sales manager at Toyota of Seattle, said he asks Prius buyers whether they want to save money, or save the environment. In purely financial terms, he says, they'd be better off buying a Corolla, or possibly even a Camry, as the extra cost of a Prius would take eight years to recoup at today's fuel prices.

Sitting out the turbulence

Many dealers note that gas prices still are a secondary consideration for a lot of buyers.

Cadillacs still are selling strongly, in part because of the line's attractive new designs, said Ron Watters, a salesman at Brotherton Cadillac in Renton.

The dealership sold 20 new and certified used Escalades last month. Cadillac buyers can afford higher gas prices, he said.

Zack Devine of Good Chevrolet in Renton says sales of large vehicles also remain strong there.

Sedan buyers consider smaller models, but those who need power to tow a boat or carry passengers do not change, Devine said.

"People ... complain about it, but they're gonna drive," Devine said.

Even Bucy, at Olympic Lincoln Mercury, where SUV sales have dipped significantly, thinks many customers are just sitting out the turbulence in gas prices.

"They just are waiting," he said. "If they have a family they need to haul around, that's what Aviators and Navigators are for."

Desperate measures

Antonio Cordero is noticing more fuel-conscious buyers, but the assistant manager of Detroit Auto Works in south Everett isn't smiling.

Drivers are trading in their nearly-new SUVs — while still carrying a high debt on the vehicles — for small wagons at his used-car lot along Highway 99.

"They've got negative equity, and take that, just to save on gas," he says, shaking his head. "I wouldn't do it, myself."

Surplus trucks and SUVs fill his lot, parked at all angles to fit. His lot has become a buyers' market for devotees of big wheels.

A nine-passenger Ford Excursion, parked toward the front, would usually fetch up to $24,000, he said.

This month, you could buy it for two or three grand less.

Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631

Seattle Times staff reporter Cheryl Phillips contributed to this report.