Offer most American buyers the choice between a big car and a small car, other things being equal, and they'll take the big car.
$4.00/gallon gasoline broke the "other things being equal" part, and now that price has dropped enough to screw up economic calculations all across the board. One reason why more efficient cars have been popular elsewhere is that European and Japanese drivers laughed at our screams on $4.00/gallon. They've been paying more for years.
If OPEC had wanted to screw alternative energy and fuel efficiency, they couldn't have chosen a better move.
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Date: 2008-11-19 07:29 pm (UTC)$4.00/gallon gasoline broke the "other things being equal" part, and now that price has dropped enough to screw up economic calculations all across the board. One reason why more efficient cars have been popular elsewhere is that European and Japanese drivers laughed at our screams on $4.00/gallon. They've been paying more for years.
If OPEC had wanted to screw alternative energy and fuel efficiency, they couldn't have chosen a better move.