When will it cost too much?
It seems that no matter how high gasoline prices soar the roads are no less crowded. I still see just as many SUVs, motor homes, campers, and pickups pulling boats as ever. Obviously the oil companies are correct in their assumption that they can charge whatever they like and people are still going to be buying and wasting just as much as ever.
Today, Sunday, the interstates were jammed with traffic. Not just a lot of local traffic, but license plates from all over. All of these travelers with vehicles loaded down with luggage, bicycles, boats, campers, etc., are still out there burning up gasoline at an incredible rate. How can these people afford it? Where are they going that's so important to them that they are willing to spend literally hundreds of dollars for gasoline?
Here's a clue for the RV folks. There's a hotel at nearly every exit. Drive something easy on gas, get hotel rooms or rent a vacation rental, and you're likely to save a fortune. The price of the RV alone would pay for hotels for a year.
I am happy to see more hybrids on the road, but they are still a small minority among all of the SUVs and other gas guzzlers which are sadly in the majority these days. Hybrids aren't perfect but their fuel economy is far better than that Hummer cruising down the highway at 75mph.
At what point will fuel prices become too high for all of this unecessary traveling? $4.00/gal? $5.00? I really wonder about that. It would seem that even if it were to hit $10.oo/gal people would still stubbornly take out a 3rd mortgage on their homes to pay for the fuel to travel someplace they don't really need to go.
I know everyone enjoys going on a vacation trip or weekend holiday, but at some point you have to ask yourself if it's not better to stick closer to home. After all, there are people who come to your neck of the woods to vacation too.