I'm so far from town that i go only when i have to and get everything i can when i go.

I can practically coast all the way to town but coming back is a booger.
vickie

Despite the whining it would cause from people who chose to buy unnecessary trucks or high-performance cars and willingly take on long commutes for just about any destination, a solid, long-term whop in the wallet is the only thing which will change people's behavior toward gasoline in this country. Gasoline at $3/gallon had only a small effect. Gasoline in the U.S. remains almost-historically cheap and certainly far less expensive than it is in countries like Europe and Japan, where paying $7/gallon is not uncommon.

I would love to see someone in government have the -- um -- nerve to suggest that people kept buying gasoline at $3/gallon, so it won't hurt that much to tax it to that level, starting immediately, with the money designated for mass-transit and other highway and DMV improvements. I'm aware that some consider this a regressive tax on lower-income persons. The way I see it, though, unless the folks who have a choice put the weight of their decisions behind options other than one-person-per-car, the low-income folks won't have any choices.

However, as I suspected they might, consumer trends have gone increasingly towards bigger and bigger cars that get really low MPG (should that be GPM?) We've gone from buying cars that range from 1-2 litre engines to cars that are 4 or even 5-something litres. Why do people buy these huge 4X4 cars to drive to work and the store when you can buy a normal car that is just as reliable, comfortable and safe, but also much less expensive in every way?

I think it's because people are not buying cars just to drive to work or the store, they're buying cars to show off their wealth (or in many cases the size of their debt). The more the price of driving a SUV or 4X4 type car expands, the more desirable and exclusive they seem to consumers. Ironically, the latest marketing strategy has been to cut the price of the car itself. Cars are becoming cheaper, more fashionable and ultimately I'm sure a lot more disposable too.

ole joyful