US to continue conserving gas, even as prices fall

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – American drivers faced with $4 gasoline have embraced conservation and consumers are unlikely to easily return to their old gas-guzzling ways now that pump prices are retreating from record levels.

As U.S. gasoline prices burst above $4 a gallon this summer, U.S. gasoline demand staged its biggest drop in more than a quarter of a century.


But even with gasoline prices falling to their lowest level in 16 weeks to average $3.69 a gallon on Monday, Americans will continue to ride public transportation and buy more fuel-efficient cars.

“There was a period when SUVs were a kind of status symbol and everyone in the suburbs wanted one,” said James Hamilton, an economics professor at the University of California at San Diego. “I think that has really changed. I think there are a lot of people kind of embarrassed socially now with the kind of car they have.”

Reuters