Kelly Blue Book Marketing Research released a study last week that reveals the once popular SUV is losing consumer interest. The New-Vehicle Buyer Attitude Study, conducted on Kelly Blue Book’s Web site, www.kbb.com, showed that 90 percent of shoppers do not believe that SUV drivers should be deemed “patriotic.” Those who did feel the SUV owners were patriots dropped 12 points to a mere 11 percent, the lowest level in the study’s three-year history. Those consumers considering an SUV purchase also dropped to a new low at 34 percent interested. As the mid- and full-size SUV’s lost attention, the small SUV saw a gain in support while luxury SUV’s remained flat. According to Kelly Blue Book the decline in interest can be attributed in large part to the rising fuel costs. Last year, most shoppers didn’t consider an SUV because they wanted another type of vehicle. In this year’s study the No. 1 reason for shoppers to shy away from SUV was escalating fuel prices. The percentage that cited fuel cost as the primary reason for rejecting the SUV rose eight points to 61 percent. In fact, 37 percent of shoppers said U.S. dependence on foreign oil was also a factor.