AAIA launches poll on how our driving habits could be affected with higher gas prices
Yes, oil is reaching the 100 UDS/barrel range and Americans might see gas around $4 per gallon very soon. Of course, some voices from the industry have been raised to help solve this situation, if you agree with them that high gas prices are bad for everybody (My guess is that most of our readers would rather trade high prices for more fuel-efficient vehicles or alternative energies). One voice comes from the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA), which has announced the results of a survey on how American citizens perceive this situation.
According to their results, 6 out of 10 people surveyed claim they have changed their driving habits because of rising gas prices. 3 out of 10 also said they would make more changes when the prices stays at $3 a gallon and 3 out of 10 said that they would have to change habits further if gas rose to more than $4 a gallon.
This survey also asked what those "driving habits" are. 90 percent of the poll said that it means driving less and 75 percent revealed that they are performing better maintenance of their vehicles (now please note who paid for the survey). People willing to make more drastic changes were not as easy to find: 31 percent said that they would carpool more, 30 percent would buy more efficient vehicles and 24 percent would use more mass transit.
While the survey promotes drivers performing regular DIY maintenance in sake of fuel efficiency, it's still interesting to see how a greener driving message is making its way into public opinion.
[Source: Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association ]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kardax 11:21AM (11/09/2007)
Even a little 5% reduction in usage across America makes a rather large impact in oil consumption.
This is actually a very good economic climate for development of alternative-energy vehicles. Oil prices are high enough to be painful, but there's no actual shortage to cripple the economy.
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Jesse McKinney 1:45PM (11/09/2007)
In full disclosure I work for AAIA, but I don't work in the research department. If I recall from Econ 102, fuel prices are a case book example of a product with an elastic demand. In the short to medium run, people 'have to' use oil. There are no easy substitutes. So, where you would expect demand to tip down it does not and keeps on at a straight line. At some point however there is a tipping point and demand will rapidly drop off. For me, that point is when it costs less for me to take the metro than to drive and park (I know that there are externalities, this is just an example). So, maybe we are getting closer to that tipping point? Or perhaps we have had the price of oil high for too long and people are starting to find substitutes (working closer to their houses or telecomuting, public transportation, new fuel efficient vehicles)?
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Bill 3:44PM (11/09/2007)
Yes, even with a sharp rise in price, fuel consumption is inelastic in the short-term:
http://www.env-econ.net/2006/05/inelastic_short.html
Of course, the short- to medium-term future brings some technology shifts that will hopefully lower demand:
1. High-mileage 50-state approved turbodiesels return to the U.S. starting next summer (e.g. VW Jetta)
2. Efficiency improvements to current parallel hybrids along with a lowering of the hybrid premium (Toyota)
3. Short-range EVs with ICE range extenders (e.g. Volt)
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mike 11:17AM (11/10/2007)
I just want to say "Thanks" to all those SUV and Pickup driver's who've slowed down in the last 6 months and are now driving much closer to the speed limits. It's greatly appreciated.
Note, there are no "sarcasm" tags in this message.
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