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SUVs, Hybrid Cars, and the Rising Cost of Fuel April 2005Waiting lists for hybrid cars are long but Chris Johnson isn't about to sign up for one, even though filling up his new Hummer costs $70."It could cost $3 a gallon and I wouldn't care," said the Punta Gorda Realtor, who bought the trendy sport utility vehicle three months ago to drive clients around. "It sells a lot of real estate." Johnson's gas-guzzling views aren't widely shared, though. As gas prices cruise toward $3 a gallon, more and more motorists are changing their habits and thinking seriously about changing their cars. Nearly half of likely buyers in a recent online survey said higher gas prices had them considering fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids. The crowd of gas-conscious consumers swelled to 77 percent when asked about prices at the $3-per-gallon mark, or 75 cents higher, according to an unofficial survey by Harris Interactive and Kelley Blue Book Market Research. As of Friday, regular unleaded in the Bradenton to Venice region averaged $2.27 a gallon, still below the historic high set in 1981, when adjusted for inflation. Back then, motorists paid $1.38 for a gallon of unleaded. In today's dollars, that high point translates into $2.94. So how likely is three bucks a gallon? It depends. Some parts of California already charge that, and this month investment firm Goldman Sachs predicted oil prices could eventually surge past $100 a barrel, bringing gas to $3 -- and beyond -- for the rest of the country. Some analysts doubt that will happen, though. "Don't believe the hype," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service in New Jersey. "I think the chances of $3 a gallon are the same as the Devil Rays winning the pennant." An ample supply of crude could cause gas prices to dip in the near future, assuming hurricanes don't wreak havoc on Florida this season, says Kloza. Oil prices dropped this week, closing below $50 a barrel Friday for the first time in more than two months. But oil broker Tom Bentz of BNP Paribas Futures was leery of predicting that the downward trend will continue, saying a slight disruption in output could again send prices soaring. Average pump prices nationally remain above $2.20 a gallon, and the peak demand period is fast approaching. "As we get close to Memorial Day, it's going to go up," said Randy Bly, a spokesman for AAA Auto Club South. Even at gasoline's current price, real estate al estate agent Greg Sarajew is already changing how he does business. Instead of driving interested buyers to see a property, he sometimes gives potential clients maps to the locations. "If it goes to $3, there will be some major problems," Sarajew said as he filled up his pickup this week. Part-time courier George Metz said he's been forced to limit some of his trips, and he tries to carpool when possible. Paying another 70 cents a gallon would force him to seek a job closer to home, he says. Metz drives from Port Charlotte to Fort Myers two days a week for a leasing company. What he gets paid for mileage doesn't keep pace with the escalating gas prices. "I guess I'll buy a bicycle," he said Wednesday as he filled up at a Port Charlotte Shell station. He was joking. But Metz and other anxious motorists are attracting an increasing amount of attention from car manufacturers. Hybrid cars, such as Toyota's Prius, are gaining even more popularity because of high fuel costs. "They don't land on the lot not being sold," Germain Toyota sales manager John Heisler said. The Sarasota dealership sells three or four Prius cars monthly but it could sell five times that given a greater inventory, Heisler said. Bob Hagmann has been tooling around Venice since November in a Prius, a car that stretches a gallon of gas more than 40 miles. Hagmann credits his wife for getting them into the car. The couple traded in their Chrysler minivan after she spotted the Prius at a car show a year ago. They fell in love with its economical ways. They're not alone. About 83,000 people nationwide registered new hybrids in 2004 -- an 81 percent jump from 2003, according to R.L. Polk and Co., a Michigan firm that collects automotive data. Hagmann has a simple explanation for the attraction. "I doubled my mileage," he said. But a market remains for the gas-guzzling SUVs. "Let's face it, people are buying an $80,000 car," said Pete Sweetser, a salesman at Land Rover Southpoint in Sarasota. "Gas isn't really a big concern." | ||
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