From: "Geo." 

"Richard B."  wrote in message
news:s3vne0dngt7k89epo2ha7ro8ndadh4d79c{at}4ax.com...

> Maybe, but it might take more than that and more quickly.  People seem
> to be already to be adjusting to higher prices.  If people will pay
> more for bottled water how can they complain about the cost of gas?

You underestimate the effects of higher gas prices. It takes years for them
to be fully realized as people don't just up and sell one car for another
because the price of gas went up. But when it comes time to replace that
car, they do make decisions based on costs.

Go to any car dealership today and you will once again see people concerned
with mileage ratings of new vehicles, haven't seen that in a long time but
it's happening now.

The only people who can respond immediately are those who drive for fun and
those who have spare cars that get better mileage than the one they
normally drive. I think that's a fairly limited section of the gas
consumers. But keep prices high for a year and you'll see a significant
shift as about 20% of the drivers will be replacing autos in that year. The
only real question is can you save more money by buying a large vehicle at
a discount or by buying a more fuel efficient vehicle at a premium.

Geo.

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