Drivers cut back!

[SVOboy]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...s-prices_N.htm

[MnFocus]

WooHooo! It's good to see the awareness sinking in Finally!

[Spencyg]

Finally....I was starting to become disturbed by the psychosis surrounding the mindless "I don't care how much it costs, I still need to let my car idle while I go in for a few groceries" mentality which seemed to be commonplace...

Spence

[Hockey4mnhs]

they still do it sat next to a guy today in parking lot at BK and he was ideling for 15 min i allmost got out and told him to shut off his car.

[kickflipjr]

I love a good graph.

[omgwtfbyobbq]

You'd be surprised how quickly things change.

[kitcar]

Idling is so dumb, I'm trying to figure out if the weight penalty of having an extra battery in my truck will offset shutting the engine off at red lights.

I've been driving 65 mph in my truck since last spring. And still these idiots blow past me doing 80 mph in their SUVs pulling their 30 foot boats. Even my own kid drives his Jeep at 80 because "I can't stand to go slow". Yeah, well when that tank costs you 100 bucks a pop, you'll be slowing down right quick bucko.

I'm of the opinion that once those credit cards come due they might slow down. Maybe then they can get one of those cool hypermileage logos in their sig.

And here's what you can say to them:

"Your lack of intelligence is offset by your astounding ignorance."

[brucepick]

I kept thinking the public would eventually respond by cutting back on consumption.

What worries me is that we've just barely hit a high enough price to get people to cut back. So when the drop in demand reaches the suppliers, prices will have to drop (law of supply and demand). Then they'll start guzzling again.

People need to understand that its geo-political. That is a strong reason to cut way back on oil use, completely aside from cost. We can substantially disengage ourselves from the OPEC countries if we quit guzzling oil. Then let them figure out how to eke out a living from the desert.

From the looks of things, none of the OPEC countries share our interests. So we should act accordingly.

[MorningGaser]

I've noticed recently that many drivers around my area are slowing down, especially the large trucks and SUVs. They're driving slower, and I hope it sticks when gas goes back down, if it ever does.

[oh95vx]

Saw a filling station recently with stickers on the pumps. They remind customers that Visa and MC limit pay-at-the-pump purchases to $50 and $75 respectively. "It's not our fault!" they proclaim. "Blame Visa!" Snicker.

We're very close to a 3-figure fillup for the typical Behemoth XL.

I have some doubts about the long-term effect, though. I expect that once the price drops back a few percent, they'll go right back to their old habits.

The only long lasting change I've ever seen happened in the mid to late 1970s during the OPEC crunch. It wasn't the jump in price then, either. It was sitting for hours in lines stretching round the block (engine idling!), waiting to buy your 10 gallon allocation - if the filling station still had some by the time you got to the pump. It was odd-even rationing (if your license plate ended in an odd digit, you could only buy fuel on odd-numbered days of the month).

It wasn't so much the high price of fuel as it was the uncertainty and inconvenience of obtaining it that got people into smaller, more FE cars. But make no mistake, it did the job. Mazdas, Datsuns, and Toyotas - used or new - were sold before they ever hit the lot. Even Ford Pintos, Chevy Vegas, and AMC Gremlins were in demand. Intermediate and large cars sat unsold for months.

I know that high fuel prices in Europe have kept their vehicles more efficient. But has anybody noticed how much of a fuss the UK government is making over the popularity of Range Rovers? Has anybody been to South Korea lately, where Ssangyong, Kia, and Hyundai SUVs are by far the most popular new vehicles? Build 'em, advertise 'em, and you'll sell 'em.

Price is one element of a strategy to get people to conserve. But if you really want it to happen, make it impossible, or at least very inconvenient and time consuming, for them to get as much fuel as they used to get. *Then* you'll see them economize.