Consumer response

The CP covers some consumer responses to higher gas prices. The sad part is that it took a huge rise in gas prices to move people toward such common-sense measures as buying more efficient cars:

"I went home and figured out exactly how much (a Chevrolet Avalanche) was going to cost every week in gas and it did not make sense," Schwingenschloegl said.

So he returned the shiny new truck to the dealer and bought a Mazda 3 compact car...

Schwingenschloegl, who estimated he drives up to 50,000 kilometres a year, said he'll spend half of what he would have on gas than if he kept the truck.

Or taking the time to arrange a car pool:

Steven Schoeffler, who operates the carpool website eRideshare.com, said with the recent spike in gas prices he has seen record increases in the number of new listings on his page with 69 new listings in a single day, nearly double the previous record.

Now if people kept up with these sorts of ideas at all times, gas prices would probably be a lot lower to begin with.

Unfortunately, the article doesn't provide much reason for optimism, as the purchaser of the more efficient car points out that he plans to get another truck just as soon as gas prices go down. All too likely, it'll take a long-term increase in gas prices to have a similar effect on consumer behaviour.