post 16 is right on the money.
I do a good bit of driving. But I’ve thought about how much a driver saves, this month, say, compared to six months ago, if he covers a hundred mile daily work commute.
Five hundred miles a week, divided by 20 mpg, puts him at 25 gallons. Twenty five times, generously, $2.00 in the price difference....gives you fifty bucks a week.
It’s not throwaway money but it is not going to buy a new car. It’s a night out for a good dinner, it’s a coat you’ve been wanting to buy, after half a year it will buy you a good rifle or shotgun.
But a lot of other things will change in American life if the world economy does decline and the oil bust continues.
Average American drives about 200 miles per week. At 20mpg and 2 buck savings that is about 20 bucks per week. At 30mpg about 13 bucks per week. Throw in a few hundred for heating and cooling. The notion that manufacturers are going to pass on their savings is naive.