Living in a Daze
August 14, 2008
How are Americans setting themselves up for another mini-disaster? USA Today has the answer...
Apparently America has already forgotten about what happened earlier this summer, let alone what might happen in the coming summers...
Car shoppers who panicked in June and July about gas prices are losing interest in small cars and hybrids as fuel prices have declined. As gas prices topped $4 a gallon for about seven weeks this summer, truck and SUV sales plummeted, and small-car sales soared. But Edmunds.com, which attracts about 50% of people using the Internet to research their next car purchase, says research interest in compact crossover SUVs now is on the rise... the future of compact and smaller cars may not be as bright as some predict. In addition to Edmunds.com's report, a study by consulting group Acxiom found most buyers won't look to small cars for their next purchase but may downsize in the class of vehicle they drive. Owners of big SUVs, for instance, would more likely buy a smaller SUV or crossover, not skip to a small car just to save gas.
Apparently America has already forgotten about what happened earlier this summer, let alone what might happen in the coming summers...
They also forgot about the '70. I think We customers are dumb and big companies bank on that. Of course 1.20$ liter (in Canada) seems like a deal when you saw 1,50 for a couple of months. I think ( I'm not a conspiracy theorist here) that Big Oil were testing the water to see how far they can go on the price point, and they seem to do it every summer, except on this one they really pushed the envelop. Fortunately this time it will leave a mark, mostly because that "Green Thing" is in gear for a while now. But who knows maybe the future is going to looks like one of those post apocalyptic movies.
It is one thing to forget the 70s... I wasn't even born until well after that period in history.
What should have happened is that we should have looked at what happened this summer and taken it as a warning. If it happened once, there is good reason to believe it could happen again... We should be adjusting the way we live so that if it happens again we will be better prepared. Instead, we simply seem to believe that this was a one time deal and that we can continue living the lifestyle that led to us to where we are.
Some will catch on, but I'm afraid that the masses won't...