With gas at $3.20 per gallon, what alternatives for families?

Say you have a family and an SUV, with gas at $3.20 per gallon, what are you to do when looking to replace that gas guzzler? A good friend of mine was asking himself that very question. Mike has 5 kids ranging from 3 to 18 and currently trucks the family around in a Ford Expedition with a 5.4 L V8, don't even ask about gas milage. And I was talking to him this past weekend, when he was asking me about the CX7 from Mazda. Mike's a bit of a gearhead, with a heavy right foot, in his fleet along side the Expedition, he has a Miata and Taurus SHO-matic. The Turbo CX7 with 244 hp apeals to him in a big way. Especially with the prospect of better than 20 mpg and the zoom factor. The 18 year old is off to college and doesn't really travel with the family much anyway, and when she does, they pack up the full size conversion van (Brand X) for those rare ocassions.
Now I like the CX7, but for Mike and his remaining 4 children, plus loving wife, the Ford Edge would be a smarter choice. The Edge will be available with a third row seat and 3.5 L DOHC V6 that should be able to beat 20 mpg on the highway, maybe even get close to 30 mpg?

The Expedition is history for Mike's family, while they've loved it for the utility and space, the gas bills are killing them. Luckily many of the kids are beyond the juice box age, just young Jessie needing a heavy booster seat, but I think a third row will be needed, and that will eliminate the CX7.

I'm sure there are many families like my friend's that will be looking for alternatives. And luckily FoMoCo has a vehicle for them to slide right into. Actually several options, the FreeStyle, Edge, CX9 and MKX.

Too bad there isn't a Diesel option for the Explorer and Expedition to stretch those family fuel dollars a little further.