No, it didn't. But it DID lower demand for a whole bunch of other products and services.
To believe your assertion on automobiles, one would have to believe that Katrina was good for GM and Ford.
That does not logically follow at all, and was absolutely not implied in my post. Slashing prices could not possibly have been good for Ford, GM, or anyone else.
Where you really miss the point is that new automobiles are discretionary expenditures, energy is not.
I didn't miss that point at all. In fact, that WAS my point . . . that price inflation in energy actually has a deflationary influence on the prices for many other products or services. And despite what we might think, the simple truth is that most of our purchases involve products or services that are "discretionary" to some degree.
"In fact, that WAS my point . . . that price inflation in energy actually has a deflationary influence on the prices for many other products or services."
Bear with me, I am really trying to follow your logic. Tell me what products and services go down in price when energy prices rise.