Rising Gas Prices Provide Fuel For Thought At The Dealership By Mike Trudel, Freelance Writer At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Despite a roller-coaster ride of rising and falling gas prices over the course of 2008, whether we Americans like it or not, gas prices could continue their sustained gallop upward. Depending on whom you believe, our gas prices could be headed to a level English, German and French consumers know all too well, where they already pay double or even triple what Americans fork over for gas.

European drivers have adapted over the years to high fuel prices, but they have an advantage that many highway-happy American residents don't -- a convenient and easily accessible public transportation system. Left with few other commuting choices, Americans are heading to their local car dealer to look for a more fuel-efficient model, and hybrid vehicles are starting to gain some traction.

The current economic downturn is having a profound effect on all automotive sales among all of vehicle manufacturers but, in spite of the tough times, hybrid sales projections are optimistic...and not simply because of higher gas prices. Naturally, as manufacturers across the board are getting more hybrid vehicles into their showrooms, consumers have more hybrid vehicles to choose from and are not only gaining more knowledge, but also trust, in the technology.

California remained the top state for hybrid sales in 2007. Twenty-six percent of all hybrid registrations were in California, up 35% from 2006. Florida, New York, Texas and Washington followed. Forecasts are for more of the same despite warnings from automakers that U.S. car sales could be at their slowest pace in more than a decade due to high gas prices and the weak economy. Even in the current environment, some experts predict that hybrid sales will rise 30% or more as this segment outpaces the rest of the industry.

High gas prices are having a profound effect on consumers. In the long term, Americans' love affair with suburban living might fade as they see gasoline prices jump to a predicted high of $7 a gallon in the next two-to-five years. As commuters spend more on gasoline, they'll have less money for home mortgages in distant suburbs. Long-distance commutes will strain budgets, and demand for urban living closer to employment centers will grow. In the short-term, commuters are likely to be willing to make easier sacrifices than moving out of the suburbs. Motorists who can easily make the mass transit shift to buses or trains will do so. Both white- and blue-collar workers may find it more economical to park their cars and buy a monthly transit pass.

But not everyone is willing to substitute mass transit for automotive transportation. Chances are, most commuters will stick with their vehicles because they consider public transit inconvenient and not worth the trade-off at almost any cost. Well, almost any cost, and that's where the popularity of more fuel-efficient vehicles, such as the growing array of hybrids, becomes a viable option. Rising fuel costs may cause many Americans to become choosy about where they drive at night and on weekends. The number of vehicles per household might fall. Instead of some families owning four or five cars, they might cut back to two or three. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about one in four American households is home to three or more vehicles.

With hybrid technology gaining a solid foothold and additional fuel-efficient technologies on the horizon, automotive consumers will have an increasing number of choices in the dealership to help them get from point A to point B in a more economical -- and earth-friendly -- fashion.

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