It's not high gas prices but worry that's keeping us out of our cars
Last year, the amount of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) dropped for the first time in just about forever. It was a big drop, too. In comparing November 2008 to November 2007, the USDOT found that Americans drove 12.9 billion miles (5.3 percent) less. The VMT drop kind of made sense though most of 2008 because of the $4 a gallon gas prices that forcesd many people to find alternatives to one-person-one-car. But now, with gas back down to $2, we're still not getting into our cars as much as we used to. Want a reason? How about worry?
Jim Motavalli, writing in the Hartford Advocate, figures that we're not driving as much as we used to because we were worried about gas prices and those fears are still around. Now, though, we're worried about the high cost of everything else. We don't go on vacation and we're not buying new cars; we're simply going to the movies and driving to work and back. Does this describe you at all?
[Source: Hartford Advocate]
Photo by jordanmac101. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
chris 8:28PM (3/11/2009)
Yes, it does describe me. Even though I could afford to drive, when gas prices started to get high I started bicycling and/or taking the bus to work and school.
Now that prices have come down alot I have kept riding the bus and bicycling. Why would I go back to my old ways after "seeing the light". It makes me feel good to know that I'm helping reduce our dependency on foreign oil, reducing the amount of pollution that I'm putting into the atmosphere (no, I don't believe in man made global warming), saving money, and staying healthier by bicycling.
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Chris M 10:55PM (3/11/2009)
Know who else is worried? OPEC
They were enjoying the high prices, until consumption crashed and so did the price, so they cut production and consumption... went down even more. Now they are really worried that they've overdid it, they'll never be able to jack up their profits, and they'll never be able to enjoy that much wealth pouring in ever again!
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Carney 10:21AM (3/12/2009)
I wish you were right, but they're back at their old games already, with the predictable results. Earlier this year they announced even more stringent clampdowns on production, and sure enough oil prices are rising again.
Nothing has changed about their ability to jack up prices. They still have control of the deepest and cheapest oil fields, an enormous portion of world market share, and face a world in which nearly all cars are UNNECESSARILY locked in to using ONLY gasoline. We still have not learned our lesson and required that cars be able to use something else as well.
Oil consumption is remarkably price inelastic. Despite the price going up TENFOLD between 1999 and 2008, demand and consumption kept on rising.
jharlan 11:32PM (3/11/2009)
We have cut or driving by 3/4. It's not fuel prices we're worried about, it's the economy in free fall. No one has a clue how bad it's going to get, so we have taken an extremely defensive position, circling the wagons so to speak. We started cutting back even before fuel prices spiked because we saw it coming well over a year ago. We are planting a vegetable garden and getting out the canning gear. We are scared, but prepared. It's a depression. If the governments efforts don't work, anarchy could result. Desperate people will do desperate things. You have to feed the common people or they will overwhelm the government's ability to keep order.
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BRG 1:23PM (3/12/2009)
"If the governments efforts don't work..."
JHarlan, the government CAUSED this situation, and its 'efforts' are MAKING it worse.
Piling up massive entitlement increases, public sector increases, socialized healthcare, billions in pork, etc. and calling it a 'Stimulus' doesn't make it a stimulus- it makes it a lurch to the thoroughly-disproven left, a huge current and future anchor on growth, an instiller of fear into the marketplace, and the proximate cause of the continuation of this recession.
Liberalism is great when its REACTIVE to the unfortunate inequities that are created by what is otherwise the only and best means of elevating people out of poverty, that being capitalism and free markets. But when the bleeding hearts run things, and proactively work... well, this is what you get. Every time its been tried.
harlanx6 1:40PM (3/12/2009)
BRN: I agree completely. You and I are on the same wave lenght. They are trying to postpone the inevitable. When you continually attempt to stimulate the economy to keep increasing tax revenues, that bubble has to break some time,and we would be better off in the long run if it's now.
Luxury cars 10:12AM (7/06/2009)
Ya gas prices is not the matter, but we should try to save our environment n make greenworld by use minimum fuel because the latest monthly update from AAA of Northern California shows California's gasoline prices drifting lower during the last four weeks, with the averageprice of a gallon of regular falling 3 cents to $2.20. { http://www.rzcars.com }
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moogy 8:21AM (3/12/2009)
For me the price of gas did make my driving habits change... for the better. I just drive more efficiently. With people loosing their jobs and credit crashing down, it's no wonder people are driving less.
For those of you that still are using their cars to go to work... Have you notice the drop in traffic in the last month. I know I have.
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joe 9:25AM (3/12/2009)
I do drive less now and spend less money even though I could afford to spend more. I just don't want to get laid off and feel foolish for having spent too much money.
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Tim 9:34AM (3/12/2009)
People are trying to save where they can. From fewer trips to the mall to closer (home) vacations to planning routs more carefully. They are afraid that the economy won't recover, that they may lose their jobs or that hyperinflation will follow the Fed's massive fiat cash injections which will make everything cost much more in the next year or two.
There is a LOT of fear in America now, and Obama's "hope and change" is being fueled by the left's politics of fear. It’s working to change the USA into the USSA and that’s why every Obama speech is highlighted by fear words. Apparently that IS change. Kind of like NO earmarks, NO lobbyists bribing politicians and a fiscal responsibility AFTER we borrow & spend $Trillions for pet pork to pay off our supporters. Taxes on the productive to buy votes from the non-productive to follow. Change & progress? We are "progressing" and changing into a socialist nation.
Will freedom die with a whimper? Don't count on it, comrades!
"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." YODA
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Mike!!ekiM 8:34AM (3/13/2009)
You know I used to buy into this right-wing BS.
Then I noticed, hay the top 2%, gets all the money. Workers wages are under constant attack, worker health care gets dropped, products now all come from China, and it's JUNK, that doesn't last three years, FOOD is poisonous.
Your "Taxes on the productive" as a mistake, you meant"
"Taxes on the parasites"...
But, thanks for reminding me of the "good old days"....
cWj 9:45AM (3/12/2009)
And maybe...just maybe....some of this environmental responsibility stuff is starting to take on a few more people?
Ah, the legacy of Captain Planet.
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Floorman56 10:33AM (3/12/2009)
Naw
If you don't go to the bar on sat night, Out to eat as much, Last min weekend trips, you don't drive as much.
Credit card Companies are seeing a drop in charges and people paying down there balance. Did people all of a sudden realise that a big CC balance is a bad thing? No they just stopped charging stuff
@macdonmt 10:19AM (3/12/2009)
Plus, those of us who sold our cars and moved to public transportation haven't repurchased yet (or maybe never)... which describes me.
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Carney 10:25AM (3/12/2009)
Until we make sure that our cars are no longer UNNECESSARILY locked in to being able to use ONLY gasoline, this situation is unlikely to change.
Fortunately, it costs only $100 per car for automakers to add at the factory the capability of running just as easily on any alcohol fuel as on gasoline, in any mix or none at all.
If we mandated that this be a standard feature in all new cars, like seat belts, people would have confidence that they would be able to run on a fuel that won't spike in price the next time there's trouble in the Mideast or OPEC cuts production.
While flex fuel cars exist today, they are only 3% of the market, and not being the standard, there's not enough to support alcohol pumps being normal at all gas stations.
With ALL new cars, year after year, being fully alcohol compatible, that situation changes dramatically, and entrepreneurs and existing stations will rush to meet this market demand.
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Brn 11:37AM (3/12/2009)
I changed my driving habits when gas hit $2. It's still $2.
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Brian From Colorado 11:46AM (3/12/2009)
The car will be around for another 100 years but will be even more mixed than now with Electric, Diesel, CNG, among others. I have a long commute several days a week and when gas prices where near $4 I took the bus. But the bus fare went up this year and the current price gas it didn't make sense for my pocketbook to take the bus any longer. I will ride public transportation when it make financial sense to do so. With many people like myself who moved out of the city the past 5 + years it has put a pinch on transportation needs for commuters. I can't sell my house now without a big loss so I'm stuck until the economy turns around. I will not buy a "New" car only a replacement "newer" model and will rent my next home closer to the city. Like many people my driving habits have changed for good and I don't see it changing anytime in the future. Like the great depression it took a war to change the habits. I had forgotten my grandfathers stories until now about how bad things where for everyone back then. One belt notch this week and two next month.
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mpg50 4:53PM (3/12/2009)
There's not much that one of us can do about the price of gas at the pump, but as a team of American Patriots working together (en masse), we can accomplish much.
See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSQh4zQcThc
We developed a liquid fuel conditioner 37 years ago during the 1973 Oil Embargo. We call it MPG50. When added to gasoline or diesel fuel, has many benefits including boosting gas mileage by 25% to 50% and reducing exhaust pollutants up to 90%. It is extremely cost-effective and widespread use could cut American dependence on foreign oil by 35%.
The MPG50 Affiliate Plan also gives America a multi-billion dollar economic stimulus plan which could immediately put millions of Americans to work with no increase to the Federal deficit. As an Affiliate, you can make a good living wage & there is no cost for the business (Simply agree to buy one bottle of MPG50/month to qualify for commissions). See http://MPG50.com
When you buy a $25 bottle of MPG50, you get a $40 Gasoline Rebate Voucher. So you make a $15 profit for trying it. Additionally, with $2/gallon gas prices a bottle of MPG50 will save you 50 cents/gallon, and since a bottle treats 160 gallons, you get $80 more in gas or diesel fuel savings.
Affiliate signup: http://ebizac.com/affiliates/register.php?id=2373
God Bless America
Tim Leahy
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Chris M 4:48PM (3/12/2009)
Why do I smell a scam?
Oh, that's right, extravagant claims without a shred of proof, glowing testimonials that can't be substantiated, but most of all the "get rich quick" multi-level marketing scheme used to sell it.
Having seen a long history of similar claims for energy saving products that turned out to be bogus, I'd steer well clear of this. Extravagant claims require extraordinary proof, and until I see such proof, I'm not buying it.
gasprices 5:25PM (3/12/2009)
Our fuel conditioner has been used for over 37 years by happy customers who have sent us thousands of testimonials. We also have dozens of dynamometer tests & emissions tests, road tests, etc. And up until recently we offered a money back guarantee and never got a bottle back. At this point we provide a $40 Gas Rebate Voucher with your $25 trial bottle.
Here's a No-Brainer for you: Try a bottle of MPG50 for $25 & get a $40 Gasoline Rebate Voucher. So, you make a $15 profit for trying it. Additionally, with $2/gallon gas prices a bottle of MPG50 will save you 50 cents/gallon, and since a bottle treats 160 gallons, that's another $80 in gas or diesel fuel savings.
We use an Affiliate Plan for marketing MPG50 because we always believed that the best salesman is a satisfied customer.
But that's OK Chris, don't use MPG50. Send the extra gas dollars you could have saved to the Mid East terrorists to fund their nuclear arsenal, so they can fly their nukes over here to put you out of your misery.