It occured to me that the sky-high oil prices must be having a crushing effect on world trade. A large portion of goods that sits on the shelf at your local Mall-Wart originates in China. Thus, it has to take a long ride on a freighter in order to get here. Such trips burn up a lot of diesel.
The cheap oil prices which made it cheaper to import goods from overseas are apparently history now. While the high fuel prices are definitely putting the pinch on the U.S. economy, they could also make it more attractive for manufacturers to produce goods here, avoiding the Slow Boat From China.
(On the other hand, diesel prices are still much lower than gasoline, in that diesel doesn’t need to compete for refinery time. Maybe my next car needs to be diesel?)
How aobut a Prius? Or other hybrid… not only do you get hugely better gas mileage, but you also get a tax break for them as well.
The current wait for a Prius is over a year … if you order one now it’ll be 2005 model … saw Ford testing the Escape Hybrid out here in the desert yesterday … only had “HYBRID” on the back … no Ford labels at all.