Not long ago, in this very space, I said: “Americans could very easily get used to 3 dollar gas.” Well. Silly me. I would have never guessed that within a month I’d see 2 dollar gas!
I live in a state with relatively high gas taxes, and my local station is selling regular unleaded for about $2.25. That’s incredible, considering last summer that same station was selling fuel for $4.25. I could very easily spend my time here delving into the reasons for such a dramatic drop, but that’s not nearly as exciting as thinking about the consequences of the price drop.
The little Suzuki I drive has an 11 gallon gas tank and was costing just over $40 to fill up, which for such a small car was quickly becoming infuriating. I was ready to trade it in for a Vespa and seriously adjust my driving habits even with that. I was prepared to do whatever I had to so America could cut it’s use of foreign oil and usher in the era of hydrogen to power the next generation of cars.
Then I watched prices on the digital sign at my local gas station plummet, and I filled up Friday night for just over $20. It’s the 20 dollar fill up that is changing my outlook on our country’s gas situation.
Now I’m considering trading in my Suzuki again… only this time a Tundra sounds kind of attractive. Or maybe the practicality of a Pilot. Heck, if I can fill one of those up for 40 or 50 bucks, I’ll be one happy consumer of oil; wherever in the world it comes from.
How low will prices go before they are no longer an issue?
-tgriffith
Feel yourself lucky that you are not paying the prices around Britian, within America, as you wouldn’t be able to run your car. Based on your 11 Gallon car, you would have to pay approx $71 at the current price of fuel over here to fill your car. Maybe you shouldn’t complain so much about the price of fuel as you have it a lot better than most other western countries around the world, and we are all struggling too.