A major change appears to be taking place with respect to the type of vehicle the U.S. public is purchasing. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis in their publication Survey of Current Business (February 2002) provide the data given in the following table. The numbers reported are in thousands of units-that is, 9,436 represents 9,436,000 vehicles sold in 1990.
| Type of Vehicle |
1990 |
1995 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
| Passenger Car |
9,436 |
8687 |
8,273 |
8,142 |
8,697 |
8,852 |
| SUV/ Light Truck |
4,733 |
6.517 |
7,226 |
7,821 |
8,717 |
8,965 |
a. Would pie charts be appropriate graphical summaries for displaying these data? Why or why not?
b. Construct a bar chart that would display the changes across the 12 years in the public's choice in vehicle.
c. Do you observe a trend in the type of vehicles purchased? Do you feel this trend will continue if there was a substantial rise in gasoline prices?