Projo Cars Blog

Gustav is coming and oil and gas prices are going up, according to The Associated Press.

No surprise there.

A major hurricane in the Gulf threatens both off-shore drilling platforms and on-shore coastal refineries, both of which have to slow down operations until it passes - and pray it does not do too much damage.

And it is just this kind of price volatility which will keep the focus on smaller and more fuel efficient vehicles into the foreseeable future.

Which means that despite the slide in prices in recent weeks, do not think we are returning to $2 a gallon gasoline. As I have mentioned before, I am prepared to concede that some $30-to-$40 of the price of oil at its height of $147 a barrel was due to speculation. That still leaves us at $100 a barrel.

Indeed, if anyone out there has been second guessing their decision to jump into a smaller vehicle as gas prices have eased in recent weeks, don't bother. Some people can afford to spend a lot of money on fuel; others genuinely do not like small vehicles.

But I imagine I am like most of you in not being wealthy and quite willing to make the jump into a smaller car. I recently traded in a 1999 Volvo XC70 wagon for a 2004 VW Jetta wagon and figure that over a third of my new monthly auto loan payment will be made up by the cost of the fuel I will save

And as it happens, I really like the Jetta!

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

 Tags  Commentary fuel prices oil prices

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