Not really. The gas price surge was a wake up call.

Rising gas prices caused me to move within walking distance of work, so rising and falling gas prices don’t really affect me any more.

Not much Jack, I’ve gotten so accustomed to rationing back on my car usage, that I’ve become to like it. Plus, it keeps down on my carbon footprint!

Not at all. I still drive only when I have to. It’s because I am more afraid of the surplus of morons in their SUV’s than the price of gas.

Yes, Jack, my car stays parked in the driveway as often as possible.
Wonder why bush/cheney never adopted windfall profits money from their oil/energy cronies? Has the G(reedy) OP been in bed with oil/energy?
Hope President-elect Obama corrects this!

My driving habits haven’t changed. I am just no longer depressed when I pull away from the pump.

Jack I can honestly say that the high gas prices have changed my evil ways for good.
I get such a kick out of “driving smart” now. I average 21 mpg now which is up from 19mpg. They could give me gas for a buck a gallon and I would still take pride in not driving like an idiot.
Remember how the McCain camp was poopooing Obama’s tire pressure remarks? Well the man is right.
It all adds up and before you know it Exxon/Mobil’s profits will take a little hit.
It’s about all we can do these days to “stick it to the man”.
And we’re helping the environment while we save money…

Bliss.

I don’t have a car, so I ride the bus everywhere…habit from when I lived in San Francisco. However, I would like to buy a car soon, but with the auto industry failing, who knows. If/when I get a car, I would only use it for trips to the grocery store, or weekend trips, but I would still ride the bus to and from work every week, that won’t change any time soon.

Nope. I put the money I save by driving less into my food intake instead of my fuel intake.
Tim in Texas

No we are still only driving when necessary and combining our errands. Unfortunately the price of food and our electric has not been reduced because of the low fuel cost even though they raised their prices due to the higher prices before. Seems like once prices rise they never come down. A shame really but we are grateful gas has come down.

No Jack! The gas prices may have plunged but prices of other commodities have increased so much that we dare not venture out anywhere.

Jack,

Plunging gas prices havent had any effect on my driving habits. Soaring prices drove my driving down to nothing and caused me to wake up to exactly what I was doing and spending with my driving. Lower gas prices would only change my habits if I still thought that all that un-needed driving I did in the past (when gas was even cheaper than now) was prudent. I dont. If the average american returns to thier old driving habits (or holds the staus quo for those that didnt change thier habits) then they are foolish.

im driving less, and will not even consider what the cost of gas is anymore. Let them raise gas prices again. It doesn’t matter to me anymore. I’ve created a new lifestyle habit which is better for the environment and easier on my wallet.

Not at all. Our driving habits are that same if not better than they were a year ago. We like it that way. I drive when I must, and my husband commutes. If we didn’t live in the country we wouldn’t need a car at all.

Jack,

Even though there has been a signifant notice of the descending gas prices I still am not on this driving spree. I think if the better of Americans conserve and drive for their essential needs the gasoline prices will remain as it currently is. All in all, this is the one great thing with all of this economic sadness elsewhere.

Daniel
Atlanta, GA

I’ll be honest, I’m driving a little more - but definitely not like I used to. Some weekends I’m more willing to take a relaxing Sunday drive, but this past summer there was no way I would have done that.

When gas was north of $4.00 a gallon, I could feel the money leaving my pocket every time I hit the accelerator. Now that I saw gas for $1.92 a gallon this morning, it doesn’t hurt so bad.

I hope the small rise in consumption doesn’t cause the prices to skyrocket back up, and oil better stay cheap for as long as possible. If we’re in an economic crisis and crude prices hit what they were, we’ll all be in for trouble.

I hope the oil companies read The Cafferty File, they should know that since they gouged us we will not be returning to our hedonistic ways. We are a changed nation and if the gouge more we will find even more ways not to buy gas or use cars.

I have been driving less since the prices went up, and do not plan on increasing my driving. I am saving a little more money normally spend on gas. I may need that later with the economy such a mess.

In the old days to be a consumer was a bad thing . If you were ill it was consumption that was to blame . It’s in all our best interest to be great conservers , not energy consumers …

I have to drive more defensively now that the house-sized SUVs are back in full force. Apparently some folks feel good enough to do 85 in gas-guzzler again.

It hasn’t changed my driving habits so much Jack, but at least now I can afford to mow my lawn.

No. My drive habits change when gas was $4 a gallon. Now that the prices have dropped I’m not going to be reckless.

There is no point in driving if the destinations are unaffordable. I can’t afford a movie, dinner out or shopping spree so I might as well stay home.

Jack: None. Still drive the same, but now able to go a little further. Americans can be compassionate people, but basically, they are selfish and for those who can afford to drive regardless of prices–they will continue.

Mine haven’t changed either with high prices or now the lower prices. Most of my driving is for necessity - for work & errands. I’ve never been a joy rider & do not buy gas guzzler vehicles.

No, we are still paying more than we should have to at the gas pumps.

Just because the prices of gas has come down ,does not mean that we will began to stop cutting our driving habits. Since, we as a nation came together to make a significant change in the way we did our travels when times were bad, then why not do the same to keep them from going right back to the same spot or in that direction?

Jack I’ve been unemployed for 2 years now, driving habits haven’t changed because the income level hasn’t changed.

How have plunging gas prices changed your driving habits?

Not at all. I’ve no job to go to any longer so I no longer drive..

Jenna
Roseville CA

Jack, I work 78 miles round trip daily. So from $55 every 2-3 days is now down to $31 every 2-3 days. I am able to save money into a savings account for unemployment emergency (the economy does not look any better, have to pay my mortgage, Jack). I drive slower and do all of my chores in one trip whenever possible. I go out only when necessary. I even walk to drug stores. Penny wise, healthier and savvy.

No Jack, I’m still conserving. I want to believe, contrary to the evidence, that most Americans are intelligent enough to realize that the pendulum will soon swing back.

No, they haven’t, Jack. When prices went sky high I cut my driving by about 70 percent. I began walking to the supermarket, bicycling to the barber, and doing a first-rate job of combining trips when I had to drive. I never suffered the kinds of budget squeezes that so many of my fellow citizens did, but I was just as mad as they were at being exploited.

Now America seems closer than ever to supporting alternate fuel vehicles that are clean and green, even if they do cost a little more at first. Coincidentally, gas prices have fallen dramatically. Can you imagine?

But I’m still mad. I’m healthier from the exercise, and I’m living smarter and better, but I’m still darn mad. I’ll walk out of spite.

It makes job hunting a little less painful. As soon as I find a job I’m gonna buy a bike so I only need to drive occassionally and so I’ll remember how just in case it should become a necessary skill at some point in the future.

Jack, I’m driving more. I’m able to spread my money more, to help buy some of the things, I wasn’t able to afford to purchase. I will be able to take my yearly plan trips, for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The drop in gas prices will make it possible, to continue our Family gatherings during the Holidays.

Not really, Jack. Even though my bill for gasoline has gone down, that drop in fuel costs has not yet trickled down to lowering prices on groceries, etc. I’m struggling, like many in this country, to balance what I have coming in with what needs to go out. I’m not quite as panicked three or four days before payday that I might run out of gasoline before my paycheck gets deposited, but I’m still being very careful.

My morning commute used to be somewhat pleasant when gas was $4 a gallon. Everyone seemed to have more conservative driving habits.
Now that gas is less than half what it was a few months ago, I have to pick up the pace in the morning or risk being rear-ended by those same folks in their gas guzzlers with NASCAR attitudes. It seems they didn’t give a hoot about conserving gas when the price was up, just their own money.

I’m conserving because we still NEED to get OFF foreign oil!!!! Go to wind and solar!!! Follow the Pickens plan!!! The republicans and the big oil companies destroyed our car industry and they should be held responsible for this mess in the auto industry!!!! Build smaller, smarter cars and trucks!!! Europe did!!! Greed and glutonus Americans need to change!

not one bit!!! I will continue to conserve forever. I hope we have all learned our lesson. Maybe we will become a nation of pre 1970s mentality. The sales of bicycles have soared and this is a step in the right direction. We have become users and abusers of a lot of things that we can nicely do without. There are two words that make sense for us all, MAKE DO.

Yes - I’m letting the grass grow without guilt. I’m looking to buy a goat.

Afraid so. Back to my usual speed on the freeway (when I can get by all the Hummers and Suburbans that have been de-mothballed) and less fanatical about scheduling trips for maximum efficiency (although I still make the effort).

I cut back driving a lot when the price was high and now I like it. I drive as little as possible now and can’t imagine ever returning to my old “Sunday Drives”. Funny how things work out.

Now that the gas prices are lower, we can’t afford to go buy anything. If anything that raise in gas prices scared us all enough to realize it can happen again. Does this mean that food prices will come down too?

No, I am still using my car as little as possible. Being the skeptic that I am, I am putting the “extra” money in a jar to pay for gas when prices soar again - most likely the week after the Christmas shopping season is over.

The lower gas prices are a blessing. However the price of food and other necessities seem to be climbing each week so I still have to curtail my driving in order to pay for these other things. I simply believe that American corporations are taking advantage of the economic situation; for example, the toothpaste I use has gone up about $2 per box. I see no reason why the price should go up this much on this particular product.

Can’t wait for Obama to straighten things out beginning in January 2009!

For me Jack no just enjoying the false hope of lower prices for now. We should still look at converting our vehiles to Natural Gas and sticking it to the foreign oil for good.

Hi Jack, well I’ve taken the commuter bus to work for over 2 years now, so the price of gas doesn’t affect me as much as some people. But I’ve also learned to drive more gently, slow down a bit, wait until I have more than one destination wherever possible, and make sure my tires are inflated properly. Just keeping tires inflated saves a lot of gas, even though Senator McCain ridiculed President-elect Obama about that very suggestion. But personally, I’m very happy that President-elect Obama is concerned about saving energy and the environment.

I’m convinced that the oil companies are trying to make us go back to our old driving habits, and gas prices are sure to go back up as soon as they have us properly re-addicted. I enjoy the mileage I’m getting now just by doing the above easy changes, and riding the bus saves a lot in gas and parking no matter what the cost per gallons is, so I’m not likely to ever go back to my old habits.

No. When they raised prices I condensed my errands and trips downtown. I’m doing that now too. I like being home more and not running around as much. I don’t trust them because at any time they could just up the price again,after all,ExonMobile doesn’t want to stop these increased record profits!

I am still driving the same way as I was when the price at the pump went to $4+ a gallon. I drive to and from work (30 miles per day round trip) and I do my errands on my way home from work. I try not to drive on the weekends. I would use public transportation, but the pickings are slim where I live in South Florida.

I’ve always been a conserver. Two wheels are the way to go.

Jack,

It hasn’t changed my driving habits because I have to use the extra money I save on gas to put back into my retirement account.

Robert
Forest, VA

Nope, I’m leaving my 4×4 F150 parked until the snow hits up here, until then I’ll keep driving the old car that gets double the gas mileage.

I have not changed my habits, but I have worried less about how much it will be to fill up.

I’ve taken a job closer to home, and use public transit as often as possible. My only weakness? Driving down to Michigan to get in some shopping (see you on Thanksgiving!)

I must confess I have quit digging for oil in my backyard since the price of gas has been coming down. So I filled the hole with water and now have a nice swimming pool. Since I have a pool I no longer drive to the beach. But since gas is a cheaper I use a lot of it burning George Bush signs in my front lawn. I would say the burning offsets the beach trips so overall it is a wash but I still have a nice hole in the ground filled with water.

Seeing as how my income has plunged even more than the gas prices, I’m not driving much of anywhere. What I can’t figure out is why we’re not hearing more about investing in viable public transportation.

Gas prices never influenced my driving habits, but braking and car durability did. It is the economy that is influencing my driving habits. I do not have a job.

We try to not to drive more than necessary. Our driving habitis should be affected by more than just prices!. If our cities and towns had more bicycle paths similar to European countries like Holland etc. local errands could be done safely by bicycle inproving our health and environment. We should also remember that even though gas prices have come down from a few months ago, they are still high and that our main supply of fuel is from foreign sources.

Jack, my electric scooter runs great! It’s a bit colder outside, but it has me fully awake, so I save on coffee costs when I arrive at the office.

Our driving habits are still the same. Being in a rural area without public transportation you have no choice. You either drive or walk. We just make each trip count.

The question that needs to be asked now Mr. Cafferty is that now that gas prices are dropping, why is a gallon of milk still nearly $4? Can we say greed?

For those of us who need to use our cars to make a living, the price of gas is relevant to our income and expenses. The concept that reducing the use of our cars will effect the price of gas doesn’t mean anything to us. If we leave our cars in the garage, we don’t make a living. That applies to most sales people. The important thing to us is for this country to drill here, make use of all energy sources that we can produce, and reduce the price to the consumer. It’s really not that complicated.

Not really. We only take some local weekend or day trips anyway to just get away from it all anyway. It’s amazing what we are finding out about historical Arizona.

The plunging prices have not changed my driving habits, with nearly everything else costing more we go out much less.

No jack. Not at all. I drive a hybrid car that I have owned for 5 years. I get 60 miles to the gallon. I drive no more or less now then I did 5 years ago. My wallet is a lot fatter since I got rid of my gas guzzler though. People have a choice. They just have to think smarter. We all get to the same place at the same time regardless of what we are driving. Some of us just spend a whole lot more money doing it.

Yes, I am driving a little further now to find bargains. All I can afford is gas, food and medicine and just barely that!

I worried when the price of gas started going down that we’d all go back to our old ways. Isee here that it hasn’t, for all of us here. I now live very close to my job and can walk if the weather is nice. I filled my tank three weeks ago and still have over half a tank left. We must not get lazy and take it for granted again. We need to do the alternative energy and different fuel cars, even if gas is really cheap. Because we know its not going to stay that way.

No,I can’t afford to buy gas at any price!

Not at all. Use the savings for the higher prices of food and medical. The dentist will still have to wait for better times.

I certainly hope not but from past experience it probably will. This is one of the incentives (including sale of gas guzzlers) driving lower prices.

Even with gas prices lower I’m still using the public transit system in Dallas it’s still less expensive than driving and paying parking. It just makes sense to continue to cut back where I can with the economy as it is and less vehicles on the road helps with the environment.

Not really… Although I must say watching gas prices drop, sometimes several times during the course of a day, is a lot more fun than watching go up!

I bought a bicycle when gas was $4.00 a gallon and I get better gas mileage from it than my car so now I use it every chance I can. I’ve also lost 29 pounds so when I drive my car now it is not carrying as much lard as it used to carry thus giving me better gas mileage. I hope it goes up again. Maybe the nation can loose some of it’s lard.

Nope. It is a Presidential Election year, Jack…..the price at the pump always falls …….we go through this cycle every 4 years.

Why change our driving habits now?

In January….right around the time of the inauguarion…..the prices will start climbing up again.

My husband started taking the bus and I started carpooling, that is working so well, that we will not go back just because the price drops. I agree with others, they will go up again. Bring on the Hydrogen cars!

it is a money relief for me that gas has gone down. now i can buy myself a present !!!!!!!!!!!

Jack,
We still have an energy crisis, so conserving gas, heating etc in any way we can is a must. We cannot allow ourselves to go back to
our old ways even though the prices have decreased. Our nation
must be serious about becoming independent of imports.
I enjoy the lower prices at the pump but still try to organize and
make each trip in the car efficient as I can.

No. The worldwide recession is reducing gas consumption, especially in China. Since the recession is still here, people will continue to save gas.

The real challenge is to keep focused on green technology when the prices are low.

The plunging gas prices hasn’t changed my driving habits since gas price was at the $4+ dollar rate. Frankly, I found that I didn’t need to drive as much as I did before the eye opening reality of the 4 + dollar gas prices.

fool me once shame on me fool me twice you can’t fool me i know this is just a trick to get us comfortable and start the cycle all over again. i am staying in my home just like before.

Here in Texas they would continue to drive if they had to pay with body parts. We do not give up our big gas guzzlers very well.

No. Only now i can afford to keep my job.

None. My bike doesn’t use gas, Jack.

They sure have. I’m looking to buy a hummer for plowing this winter.

Lower gas prices are great, especially with everyone having NO money, but for the lucky ones still with a job we should not just go and start doing alot of unnecessary driving and consuming of gas cause that will just give to idiots in charge of OPEC leverage to jack the price up. We should never allow oil prices to get over $75 it just does not make any sense…

No and I sure hope it’s not changing other peoples habits. Diesel is still high and that what drives our goods to market. Gas and home heating oil will still be expensive. We need to not start using more gas and hopefully that will lower some prices. But as a nation we have a short memory, and I think big companies count on that. Next time gas goes over $3.00 a gallon we won’t be so shocked and it will stay there. We’re being conditioned.

Our faith in the economy improving has decreased faster than the gas prices. Like so many people these days we’re being very cautious with our spending. I consider gas prices a barometer on how the economy is doing. When the oil companies start asking for a bail out I know we are in a depression.

The high gas prices of a few months ago was a wake up call, I plan my errands carefully and use as little gas as possible, it just makes good sense to save as much as possible, it should be a habit for all of us to drives as little as possible.

The driving isn’t much different, but it’s harder to find parking places because fewer people are staying home. The roads have become crowded again, and it isn’t holiday shoppers.

Does not make much of a diff. Still drive as much or as little as I did when the prices were high. High gas prices never did cause me that much grief. Just another cost of living. As an old retired man I spend as much as I get each month and that is it.

I need to drive - it’s my job. If anything, this economic downturn has cut my driving, my work hours - and my income - drastically. As the cold winter months settle in - and so many more people lose their jobs, I’m sure this same situation will continue, My driving habits have changed, but I’m not doing it voluntarily.

I had changed my driving habits well before gas reached almost $4/gallon, so there’s no need for me to change back. However, I will say that it is such a pleasure to be able to go to the gas station and spend less than $50 to fill my tank. Makes me a little less guilty about going out to dinner, which I do locally. That, in turns, help keeps my neighborhood restaurants in business, which allows them to stay open, gives them more money to spend, keep people employed, and as a result, we all put more money back into the economy. That’s what we call “trickle-UP” economics!

After the $14.83B profit made by Exxon/Mobile last quarter, planning ahead to make as few trips as possible is my newest agenda, despite falling prices. Now I’d like to know when all the other prices like groceries, etc. will follow suit - fat chance!

Plunging gas prices have not changed my driving habits. I drive a hybrid, fuel-efficient car, but do so sparingly when there is a ligitimate need. I combine trips. The price of gas should not be our only incentive to conserve. We need to be more responsible in terms of green house gases and the harmful affects of auto emissions. I suspect prices are being deliberately lowered to get the public to stop thinking about alternative energy. Oil and gas prices will go back up. We have seen this before.

With gas prices falling, the people with the huge trucks and SUV’s are resuming the driving habits of the past.. I drive only when absolutely necessary.

My driving habits haven’t changed just because the price of gas is temporarily lower. OPEC won’t stand for this for very long, they’ll cut back production, dry up reserves and push the price back up to $150-$200 per barrel as soon as possible. They are addicted to those prices every bit as bad as we are addicted to driving. They are petro-terrorists, and it is their game to have us finance their activities with our gas dollars.

The fact that the price has not bounced back up recently is evidence that I, and many of my fellow Americans have not shifted from whatever we’ve been doing to reduce our fuel consumption. By inflating my tires and coasting downhills I’ve managed to improve my gas mileage by 15%. I’m also more judicious about consolidating my travels, and doing more things on-the-way.

It doesn’t take a lot to make a big difference, if everyone does a little bit — and every little bit helps.

Jack, I cut back when gas hit 3.25 last spring and have cut even more as the price went up. I became use to not running to town every time something came up. I started planning and now it is the same I plan ahead if at all possible. We have a long drive anytime we go to town, We are saving money doing this and it is not that hard to plan for a month in advance. Gas price here is 2.05 gal. It hit a high of 4.07 in August. I’m doing my part in cutting into the $700 billion we spend on importing oil. I support T. Boone Picken’s plan on producing wind energy, and I support clean coal as a soruce for natual gas. It’s green and it is in the United States greatest natural resource.

My driving habits haven’t changed a bit since last summer. We bought a small gas sipper in July when gas was $4.00 a gallon, and are pleased to find that it runs just as economically on $2.00 a gallon gas.

The lower gas prices are welcome, but the grim facts remain. My income is less now than in 2001, like many Americans. Savings was an early casualty, and now credit is no longer an option. So, like everyone else, I am paycheck to paycheck and deciding which bills to pay and which ones to delay. It’s a wonderful life.

Not at all. Because although it costs less to fill my car right now, my other expenses (groceries, utilities) have not gone down. So any money I’m saving on gas is going to other expenses. And also, I like the idea that I’m reducing our carbon footprint even a little bit by driving less. Go Me!

Well in the last few months I have learned what my feet were made for, so who needs an auto? I have lost 23 pounds, and my heart rate has gotten a lot better, and my circulation is doing better also. So jack it back up again, and a lot of us will get much healthier, and our dependence, or our addiction on foriegn oil will be a habit well kicked. I remember when gasoline was $.25 a gallon, and every gas station was having gas wars to get customers. Soon followed by the oil companies buying up all of the independents service stations, and the constant rise in gasoline prices were on. Don’t blame the Saudi’s, put it where it belongs, on big oil.

No, this is just a temporary reprieve and the Middle East is already talking another production cut to raise the prices of oil again.

I’m not giving them one nickel more than I absolutely have to.

Regardless if it’s 50 cents or five dollars a gallon, I’ve cut back to bare minimums of driving and will continue to do so. Also, my fuel purchases are only from American produced fuel stations as well (Sunoco).

DRILL BABY DRILL! ..Let’s be energy independent again and tell them we appreciate them as much as they appreciate us!!

I am driving more.

L.M.,Arizona

no i won’t the gas will go back up especially after the elections the democrats paid these companines to lower the gas prices for a little while they will go back up especially since we have the democrats controlling everything

Last spring when my tank was half empty I filled it up because I knew the price would be higher in a day or two. Now when my tank is half empty, I wait because I know the price will go down in a day or two.

No because we are trying to develop good habits before the prices go back up in the next 3 to 4 months and the next time we’ll see $5 a gallon gas.

not much but watch my dollars and use other means of transportation such as riding buses or carpooling…the big oil companies should get ready because obama will start taxing them for windfall profit taxes and other types of taxes to help the poor and middle classes..all of us are going to pay for high gas and oil prices regardless so we have to get use to it..nothing isn’t cheap anymore, those days are gone..

My driving habits haven’t changed. I am a veteran on a fixed disability income and budget one tank of gas per month…period. If I can stretch it over to more gas remaining in the tank at the beginning of each monthly pay period, that’s great. I only drive when I need to and that’s usually just around town (caveat: a lot of that is also due to my disabilities which are limiting), and I try to drive conservatively and group destinations together so that I’m not driving across town for just one thing, but can hit a few places that are geographically close together on the day that I’m over there. I have noticed that it seems like any dollar “savings” at the pump is being offset by a rise in grocery costs. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise as I could stand to lose a few lbs anyway.

Roland
St. George, UT

Actually, it has a little. Now it takes less than $20 to fill my tank and drive up to Chicago… two or three months ago, it would have cost me ten dollars more.

We need to learn our lesson once and for all: less consumption = lower prices

Get real folks! The gas prices will again go up into no-mans-land. Lets start helping to get “green” solutions on a roll and success shall be ours!

Not at all Jack. I live in Canada where the we get gas for twice the price. When will America wake up to the fact that life does not revolve around the gas pump.

No, once I figured out how to cut back on fuel consumption, I decided to stick with my conservation efforts regardless of gas prices. Good thing, because now I have to pay for rising food costs, outrageously expensive medical and dental costs, and large heating bills over the winter.

Jack
Gasoline in Florida has dropped 2 dollars a gallon. We didn’t build any new refineries or drill new holes in Alaska or the Gulf of Mexico. I’m confused why did it go up and why has it come down. Demand is down 3% why would the price go down 50%. Kinda reminds me of the stock market and the real estate market. Wonder what’s next..

OIL companys Hurting we have to Subsidize the oil & gas companys
im Driving less & will not cut my grass

No, not until it gets back to 99 cents per gallon.

Not at all. Six years ago we bought a condo in a neighborhood about 2 miles from downtown San Diego. In a given week we walk o the local library, gym, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. We drive on perhaps two days a week to do “major” shopping on all sorts. Being retired, we don’t have a work commute. If we want to go out of town, we drive or take the train.

while the high gas prices affected the quickness with which we would get into the car to ” run an errand,” the issue of global warming that also impacted on the decision making. high prices made it easier to remember that the earth is getting ruined and made it so clear that we really really did not have to go on as many “errands” as we used to go on! i hope we all remember that it is not only about “foreign oil” or high or low gas prices, but it is about GLOBAL WARMING. so i hope we all stay out of our SUV’s and all think twice about getting into the car for any little thing.

No. They haven’t “plunged” here. diesel is still $4+/gallon in Anchorage, higher in the bush, causing a migration of hundreds to the city: they can’t afford to heat their homes!
We’re like a third-world country in this state in many respects.

Let me see Jack, I am a casualty of the outsourcing that our fools in government caused. My manufacturing business is lost, my home is lost, all that is left are the bills. We will stay home and spend very little for the holidays.
I hope they pass a new stimulus bill, I need money to pay for a bankruptcy.

Haha not at all to OLD to very much !!

Yes it has Jack, I can turn the heat on in the car now!

I can get to the store once a week.

It just means it’s a bit cheaper to drive to the bank to cash my unemployment check.

No.! Now is the time to conserve and pay on credit that was being’
taken up by the High Prices ochestrated by Exon and Mobile
Speculators!!!!!!!

I actually drove to a food store that was cheaper in prices. I am retired and my fixed income does not allow for such extravagance with gas at $3 per gallon.

Plunging gas prices have not changed my habits for the simple reason that I don’t believe these low prices will hold. The economy will rebound and so will gas prices.

Not driving habits, but buying habits. I can’t really control how much I have to drive, so all I can do is spend less money on other needs. There is a section of our nation, and apparently I am part of it, that has already pared things down to the bone. It’s going to be a hard candy Christmas this year, Jack.

Hi Jack,

The plunging gas prices have done nothing to change my driving habits. I refuse to drive anywhere that is within walking or cycling distance until the price of gas returns to 1977 prices. As a result of my stubborness, I have dropped several dress sizes. I feel better than ever. My health and fitness levels defies my age. Thank God for the new world robber barons; they’ve helped me get in shape.

it’s not going to last for long, the republicans only got prices lowered, so people wouldn’t be so mad at them on Nov. 4th (didn’t work), now they will stay low until after xmas so people will spend on gifts, after the holidays watch out. Oil producing countries are already threatening to cut production.

Jack
Now I can take my Chevy out once a week to go food shopping. This wont last the oil giants will wake up and realize their profits are down and their Christmas Bonus is in trouble, gas will go back up Merry Christmas America.

I think a lot of people who cut back on driving when the gas prices rocketed are going to stick to their new regime and that’s a good thing. It’s not only good for the enviroment but it’s also good for the wallet, especially when you consider that the prices won’t be low for very long. Hopefully the $4 gallon shock will also encourage people to get a more efficient car next time they buy one.

The plunge in gas prices was balanced by the plunge in the economy. Maybe I can drive, but I can’t afford anything when I get there, so why go?

I drive 200 miles every weekend to visit my girlfriend regardless of gas prices. The only difference now is that I’ll be able to save enough money to buy her an engagement ring.

Still driving predominately for commuting and groceries.
I am now able to afford paper and cleaning products I was deferring before.

i haven’t really changed my habits..it really is nice to be able to fill my car for less.people are only fooling themselves if they think it’s going to last forever so therefore we need to move foreward even more so with alternative energy..here in iowa a gallon of gas with ethanol is a $1.79 a gallon..not too shabby but all good things come to an end..

No it is still to high maybe if it goes under a dollar

Not mine. I drive like my wallet depended on it.

Ray Kinserlow
Lubbock, Texas

I have to laugh at the ignorant people in this country that think because it is an american car that it gets terrible gas milage. My 1987 Corvette gets 31 miles to the gallon. Most new Toyotas do not get that!

Whew, the pricing had me worrying about keeping my job 35 miles from where I live. Now that the prices are down, I’m worried about the company I work for keeping their doors open.

In the words of the immortal Vince Lombardi, “What the Hell is going on out there??!!!!”

Jack,

My driving habits aren’t changing, but my money handling is. I now budget $4.00/gallon for gas. Any money that I save because gas prices are currently less than that goes into the rainy day kitty.

Jim
Reno, Nevada

We didn’t change before or after. But we are wondering how to put away some extra CHANGE for a raining day. We maybe living under a bridge next year. If some Heads don’t roll soon.

None; I have not forgotton what Iw as paying just a few months ago. Taking extra money paying down my credit card. But I hope we continue to cut our usage. I would care if it went to a dollar a gallon as long as we cut our consumption by 35%.

Not at all, Jack.

I developed better habits when the price was high and kept them, because a waste of gas is still a waste of gas.

The only extra driving I do is past one gas station to the next one where regular is twenty cents cheaper.

Jack my wife and i are in our middle sixties, we remember the 70’s. We had two children and a third on the way. The people around Nixon then were the same people around “W” when he took office. Nixon was smart enough not to listen to them, but “W” cowboyed up and look where we are today.
I read this morning that Mark Cuban is being looked at for ‘inside trading”, but we are not able to find & prosecute the “speculators” who raped the world this past summer-GO FIGURE- Two Texas OILMEN in the Whitehouse.
We would buy an Electric car tomorrow if the price an quality were equal components. We will continue to curtail our use of gasoline.
Keep up the good work The Clarks Norco, Ca.

Americans now realize they God gae them legs instead of cars so hopefully they woke up and won’t abuse the right to drive a car. We don’t need the Saudi’s or Chavez. We can all re-evaluate our budgets to be more realistic to what we can and should afford.

What’s with this reliance on the public dole. Hopefully some of the habits for economizing will stick so Detroit can finally be forced to move into building competitive cars. They can build them with bailout money they could get from the oil companies. Just 6 months of oil profits would give them the capital they need. Talk about irony…….Those poor oil companies would have to suffer the indignities of earning half proifits for 6 months until the loans were paid back…..

I drive the same as I always have-go the speed limit when cops are around and speed when they’re not.

Sure. We have to face the fact that the United States is one big petroleum junkie. We need to dig deep and make use of the earth’s natural heat, and put together infrastructure to make use of our own energy resources to distribute freight, run transport systems, and bring manufactoring back to America such that we can compete world wide. We’ll never compete while buying fossil fuels from foreign suppliers. Never.

The plunging gas prices certainly have affected my driving habits. No wait, it was the plunging stock market, credit markets and economy that changed my driving habits. They cost me my job. Now, I don’t have anywhere I have to drive each day. Some tradeoff.

I still use the 50 gallons of gas a month that I have been using for over four years. If the rest of driving families could be smart and not waste this resource we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

I cut back when prices were high and thankfully its become a habit. I also got rid of my 4×4 pickup that I didn’t need and brought a car that gets about 12mpg better that the truck. I hope most of us don’t get sucked in to thinking gas is going to stay low OPEC is meeting later this month and you can bet they will cut back production to move the price of a barrel up.

Well I’ve limited my driving and I’ve kept it that way. However, a lot of people are going to revert right back to creating the same demand that drove the prices through the roof the first time. We seem to learn nothing from our blunders. We scared the oil producers when we drastically cut back this summer. We need to keep them worried!

No. I am a retired autoworker sitting on every penny right now and If auto industry goes bankrupt, it will not matter to me if gas is $4.00 or 4 cents. I will not have any use for it anyway. All I’ll need is a pair of shoes to get me from my cardboard box to the local Tabernacle.

You are assuming people still have jobs to drive to or money to spend on recreational trips. Peoples driving habits won’t return until their spending habits can return.

Its been terrible, with high prices my big SUV has the road to itself, now with lower prices the roads are clogged again and I use twice as much gas waiting in traffic….

My driving habits were changed when the price of gas sky rocketed. I realized I could save $70.00/wk by moving my office at home. I get more work done with less drama, and I have peace I never thought was possible. Now that the price of gas has plunged, I am overjoyed at my savings. I amalso keeping our 4 cylinder because I know the (Flowers that be) are going to play this game and raise them again. I am patiently waiting for our new energy plan, and we can tell them all to take their oil, and burn it..

C.H.
Longview, Texas

Jack, This just goes to show how badly we have been ripped off by Big oil, all this time. Bush is going to live like a sheikh just like the ones he holds hands with and refers to as (uncle). Someone PLEASE prosecute him and his associates and try to get back the huge sum of money that they have stolen from us.

No the drop in gas prices haven’t changed my driving habits Jack.
I know when the weather warms back up in the spring when more people are out on the road. The gas prices will hit records again, and again! I am putting back and waiting for that to happen, because I know it will. The old oil game never fails to come around just in time for the holidays and warm weather!

I had become so aware of my driving habits when the price of gas was high that I find I am still very conscious about conserving and making smarter decisions than I used to. I am still in total conservative mode and hope everyone else is, too.

no… Poverty has!

I have a brilliant solution to the gas problem…

We have traffic cameras on our streets, right? Why can’t we install special cameras that take a picture of your license plate and levy a small surcharge per mile driven?. This way, we can make driving expensive without giving away our future to Big Oil.

No, everything else still costs more and more everyday. The gas prices falling is a small temporary convenience. I am sure they will find other ways to stick to us, like bailing out more corporate losers.

Jack,
Yes, I believe the fluctuating gas prices have finally caused Americans to realize how gas and oil controls not only their driving habits but their lives. Hopefully they will now demand that the US automakers build alternative energy cars so that US consumers can become energy independent from foreign control, while leading the way towards being the world leader in manufacturing ‘green’ cars.

I don’t have to put gas in the car just to go put gas in the car. Too bad food and everything else is still overpriced…

Jack , Gas prices have not effected my life style too much. We’re
retired and don’t do any extra driving.

With gas prices so low. I have a V8 truck and a 4cylinder truck. I still have to drive mainly the 4cylinder truck to try to make up all the money i lost from the high prices we had for so long.

Nope, I drive as little as possible under any circumstances anyway.

In 2 months George Bush is going to have to start buying his own gas, No wonder it’s going down.

No, I continue to conserve. One of the reasons that the cost of fuel has dropped IS BECAUSE when the price reach, $4 plus, a gallon, Americans started to change our driving practices.

The law of supply and demand is still in play.

not much jack its getting bad weather here and i dont like to get my veicle dirty and also dont like to give my money to the gas companys

Jack, plunging gas prices have not changed my driving habits. I only drove when necessary when gas prices were high and I still do so despite low gas prices? Why? Cars prevents people from exercising and it’s bad for the enviornment. Every American should significantly cut back on their driving and I’d be in favor of $20 gas prices if that were the only thing that encouraged them to do so.

No. My old GM clunker keeps me in line.

Jack,

I’m not fooled by plunging gas prices. What happened earlier this year is a foreshadowing of gas prices that, within five years, will go well beyond $6.00 per gallon. As such, I plan to buy hybrid car that I can modify to be co-powered with solar cells and run on used cooking oil.

Hi Jack,

this is the yoyo gas and auto game or maybe it is a tango dance between the two. Lower the price of gas, get people hooked again and the auto industry does not have to change a thing since cars are made to last just a few years anyways…bail them out, keep people working and driving and with the bailout it gives them enough time to survive the economy going down and then the auto industry can sell their old cars since they are stuck with them anyways! Wow! I can really feel the change in the air!

nope, i still stay home, ive got no job, no money,

They have made me a much happier driver, Jack ! It has also made me a safer driver as now I don’t keep my eyes focused on the gas guage. The exorbitant price of gas before, about $4 per gallon, forced me to combine tripsand find shorter routes. Those good habits haven’t changed nor will they regardless of how low gas prices go. Now, I am waiting for grocery and other prices to drop accordingly.
Brownwood, Texas

My Ford’s gas tank leaks. My Jeep’s fuel pump stopped working. I’m afraid to drive the International it’s so old. But my Merecury is #2 in dependably behind Lexus. I haven’t been driving much, Dude. But Ford builds-em good. Ford is just as good as Toyota (owned two). Ralph, Yakima, Wa.

Jack;
Yes, unfortunately. When gas was above $4/gallon, I was amazed to notice the amazing “dissappearance” of the SUVs and 4X4’s on the highways. This, coincided with huge losses in SUV sales, and the beginning of the Big 3’s demise.
It’s a ironic shame that the lower gas prices could end any thought about a much more logical and realistic future, concerning alternatives, and ultimately - climate change.
RI

Any benifit brought by cheaper gas has been offset by the ridiculous price of groceries and other goods. Besides, how long will it be before speculators drive oil up beyond this year’s records? I haven’t seen any proposals offered to stop a repeat of this crisis.

When gas prices went up-I quit my job and got a stay at home computer job so I would not have to put up with the rising gas prices. As I traveled quite a distance in my other job. Best thing I ever did. I paid myself every week what it would have cost me for gas. Over the weekend for the first time in a while, the family and I drove to the next state over (new hamshire-we live in Maine) to do some christmas shopping with all the money I saved not having to use my car. Go figure.

i only drive when its necessary, no matter what the prices are.

Our driving habits have permanently changed. While saving gas, we also saved money which we now need to buy food. We’re spending on necessities only. No more trips to Grandma, no more trips period. Work, doctors’ appointments, and the grocery store — that’s it for driving. If Big Oil and other retailers miss my dollars, they can thank George W. Bush. I won’t shed one tear over their losses because they sure as heck didn’t care about ours.

I am not changing a thing. I drive a fuel efficient car and although the recent rise caused me some stress, the plunge hasn’t change me either. I am concerned that the lowering of gas will cause Americans to become complacent toward solving our dependance on foriegn oil. We are such a fickle group.

Nope! Driving as little as possible. Using golf car, bicycle and walking all I can. The oil dudes will not get the little money I have left after the financial dudes made off with my retirement.

Actually, the drop in gas prices hasn’t changed my driving habits, but it has made me feel less stressed when I get in the car. Two dollars a gallon is still a lot of money, at least to me, but when I drive to school I don’t feel the pinch in my pocketbook quite as much and I’m grateful for that.

It has made me aware that wecannot take anything for granted.

The falling gas prices haven’t really affected my driving habits at all. I tried to be more judicious in my fuel use when prices were high, and I’ve kept those habits. And I believe these changes in my habits are worth keeping, because even though gas prices have been dropping in recent months, I think they will eventually rise again and continue the trend upward in the long run. The oil won’t last forever.

Not at all Jack,You know the Grinch/OPEC will be raisng their prices just in time for Christmas.
Simple economics Jack, if