In my neck of the woods, gasoline prices have dropped to 73 cents per litre. That's the lowest it's been in many years, and half of what it hit during the summer.
And while I appreciate it when I'm pumping the stuff into my tank, I think that in the not-too-distant future, if it stays that way, it's going to create as much havoc as the high prices did.
Look at what happened: gas prices soared, and critics and the public pounded on the Detroit Three. Where are your small cars? Where are your hybrids? Why aren't you building what the public needs in the face of gas prices?
So General Motors rolled out the Volt, and announced that even in the face of possible bankruptcy, it would continue to spend research and development money to get it to market on schedule. Chrysler brought out three electric vehicle concepts and said it will choose one for production as early as next year. Ford brought out the Fusion Hybrid and has promised an electric car by 2011.
And they're not the only ones. Toyota's bringing Prius production to the U.S. Nissan has promised electric vehicles. Honda's got a fuel cell, a natural gas car, and a new hybrid is on its way. Mercedes has clean diesel, and BMW has hydrogen.
And then gas stays cheap. Memories are short. And buyers refuse to pay the premium for these vehicles, and they sit on the lots collecting dust -- while the critics and the letters-to-the-editor folks wonder why carmakers don't build the vehicles people want to buy.
