DENVER — Prices at the pump are dropping fast, and gas could fall below $3 a gallon in a matter of weeks, if not sooner. Does that mean Americans will return to their heedless, gas-guzzling ways?
Experts say no because most drivers assume the dip in prices will be short-lived, and motorists have adjusted their habits accordingly.
Analyst Stephen Schork said that any return to more liberal use of fuel would occur a long time from now because consumers are already making big-ticket decisions about what cars they will drive.
"We've been through almost eight years of continuously rising gasoline prices," AAA spokesman Geoff Sundstrom said. "Any notion that this is a temporary thing has pretty well been erased."
New technologies are emerging fast, with electric cars expected to hit the market in a couple of years, but the question is no longer when gas prices will fall, but when will the next spike come?
"Everywhere you go, be it the store, the diner, whatever, you hear people talking about their gas costs and how they need to cut back," said David Robinson, 67, while a friend filled up in Lakewood, N.J. "You still hear it, even though gas keeps dropping."
The shift in consumer behavior was noted by AAA in December, when vehicle miles traveled began to slip. Regular gasoline had just risen above $3 a gallon during a month when gas prices usually fall.
By July, regular unleaded gasoline set a record national average of $4.11 a gallon.
The slackening demand for fuel is backed up by industry analysts, who say there has not been such a drastic shift in driving behavior in decades. Demand for gasoline dropped 6 percent over a couple of months.
"For most of this decade, we've seen uncertainty manifest itself in the oil markets" in terms of supply," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J. "This is probably the most depressive period" consumers have seen in a generation.
Gas prices keep fallingGas prices fell again Friday to a national average of $3.35.
Nashville-area prices have also eased considerably. On Friday, the average price of regular unleaded was $3.55 a gallon here, down from a peak of $4.13 a gallon on Sept. 17, according to AAA.
Prices dipped below $3 a gallon on average in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. If crude keeps falling, the rest of country should see gasoline selling for less than $3 in the next few weeks or sooner, experts say.
Even the dramatic drop in oil prices hasn't changed consumers' attitudes.
The collapse in oil markets accelerated Friday, sending a barrel of crude plunging below $78 as investors grew more pessimistic about resolving a mushrooming global economic crisis.
Oil hasn't been this cheap in 13 months — a rare silver lining for consumers amid a rapidly imploding financial landscape.
Crude prices have almost been cut in half since surging to a record near $150 barrel over the summer.
Energy experts believe prices could go even lower.
Industry analysts say gas could fall as low as $2.50 to $2.75 a gallon, but many see that as a temporary pause before prices rise again.
In September, consumers continued shifting from trucks and SUVs to cars, with car sales representing 52 percent of the market.
David Portalatin, an automotive industry analyst for the NPD Group, said research has shown both short-term and long-term behavior changes that will continue for an extended period regardless of the gas price.
"Consumers don't have a lot of faith that the price will come down and will stay there for very long," he said. "Today's consumer is more thoughtful about overall finances."
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