DALLAS, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Sports utility vehicle registrations increased 56 percent between 1997 and 2002 with California and Texas leading the way, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.
California had 2.8 million SUV registrations and Texas had 1.8 million in 2002. SUV registrations climbed from 15.5 million to 24.2 million nationwide.
The SUV increase continued a national trend reported five years ago, but it fell short of the 81 percent jump the Census Bureau found between 1992 and 1997.
Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon said SUVs traveled nearly 315 billion miles on the nation's highways in 2002, up from 100 billion miles from 1997.
Pickup truck registrations were up by only 5 percent between 1997 and 2002. Texas had the greatest increase, gaining 747,800 vehicles to reach 3.3 million in 2002, but California led the nation with 4.1 million trucks.
The figures were reported in the Census Bureau's 2002 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey.
