View Single Post
Old 10-31-2014, 02:34 PM   #1 (permalink)
MetroMPG
Batman Junior
 
MetroMPG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: 1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22,534

Blackfly - '98 Geo Metro
Team Metro
Last 3: 70.09 mpg (US)

MPGiata - '90 Mazda Miata
90 day: 54.46 mpg (US)

Appliance car Mirage - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage ES (base)
90 day: 57.73 mpg (US)
Thanks: 4,082
Thanked 6,979 Times in 3,614 Posts
"High gas price amnesia" is setting in again



Image: A Siegel

Fuel prices are dropping, following oil prices down. They're near 4 year lows lately.

I read a good phrase recently describing car buyers who have "high gas price amnesia". (It's about the U.S., though it probably applies to many other countries as well.) When fuel prices drop, they buy a lot fewer efficient cars and head for thirstier crossovers, SUV's and pickups, without thinking of what's happened in the past and is likely to happen again:

Quote:
Consumers, Krafcik says, just seem to have short-term memories. "I think it's fairly interesting from a cultural memory standpoint, that American car buyers, for the most part, don't seem to have memory of gas prices two, three or six months ago," he says.
The comment was made in an article specifically about hybrids, because sales are off ~5% while overall auto sales are increasing.

Of course, right now we're seeing the same trend here in the forum: Overall activity (post/threads and visitors/searchers) tracks oil prices very closely, so it's no surprise there's less activity now than there was a few months ago.

Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	gasprice-2356136293_cc5f9a3989_o.jpg
Views:	232
Size:	28.5 KB
ID:	16235  
__________________
Project MPGiata! Mods for getting 50+ MPG from a 1990 Miata
Honda mods: Ecomodding my $800 Honda Fit 5-speed beater
Mitsu mods: 70 MPG in my ecomodded, dirt cheap, 3-cylinder Mirage.
Ecodriving test: Manual vs. automatic transmission MPG showdown



EcoModder
has launched a forum for the efficient new Mitsubishi Mirage
www.MetroMPG.com - fuel efficiency info for Geo Metro owners
www.ForkenSwift.com - electric car conversion on a beer budget
  Reply With Quote