My hybrid...

 

You would expect then to be cheaper to purchase too, but they are not. Nothing "smart" about them. I could get a brand new Mustang with a 6 cylinder for a lot less. The cheaper price would pay for the first year's gas.

 

It is an interesting perspective about buying, for example, a Prius for 24k, something else for less that gets less mileage and figure you are ahead of the game because you can buy the difference in fuel. Perhaps this a very unique American trait. Imagine, if in the last 4 years if 20% of Americans parked their SUV and bought a Prius (or something with that MPG). The result would be a credible reduction in demand for fuel. Now, supposedly we live where supply and demand has effect on price. Ergo, in the above example everyone would benefit from price stabilization. But it seems everyone I meet says they have to consider a cheaper car that gets lower mileage to make it economically work for them. Aside from many people never looking at the problem this way, I suspect many people wouldn't like the idea that they are in effect subsidizing some other peoples less expensive fuel.

I wrote that supply and demand is an active component in the above and other equations, although at times I am somewhat suspicious. Gasoline demand in the US is actually flat and in some areas down over last year. Well, I know it is a "global thing" and aside from some strong demand in China/India/Middle East, some war payback, and a goodly amount of global financial commodity scare mongering, I am very curious about this phenomena: How is it that in my city gasoline prices go up about 4 cents each and every day and yet they receive a shipment of gasoline about every 4-5 days? That means gasoline increases in price about 20 cents between deliveries. That's after it has been, explored, pumped, shipped, (commodified) refined, and delivered. What other industry does this occur in? Does that box of cereal increase in price as it sits on the shelf? And yet the oil companies say they have nothing to do with the recent price rises.

 

Wind power nice !

 

Yes, that's a well-known problem in economics, sometimes referred to as the "Tragedy of the Commons". If everyone else conserves, each individual is tempted to gain extra benefits by not conserving.