As gas prices slip, so does interest in hybrids

I wanted to draw your attention to an intriguing post by my colleague Martin Zimmerman at The Times' Up to Speed blog.

Marty reports that auto data tracker Edmunds.com has found that interest among users of its website in smaller, fuel-efficient cars is declining while more users are seeking information on compact crossover SUVs.

And, more specifically, interest in gas-electric hybrids has fallen 34% since June. He writes:

"With the initial shock of high gas prices fading, consumers are returning to rationality and again viewing gas consumption as just one of many factors when considering their next vehicle," said Edmunds.com Chief Executive Jeremy Anwyl. "And as gas prices actually decline, this trend could accelerate."

Read the whole post. Marty also quotes others who believe that gas prices are going to have to plummet a lot more than they have in recent weeks for Americans to return to buying larger cars.

Regular Bottleneckers know that I remain skeptical that our driving habits have forever changed in this summer of high gas prices.

For example, the media (including yours truly) jumped all over the U.S. Transportation Department's estimate last month that Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in May 2008 than in May 2007. Now, let's think about that for a moment. There are about 202.8 million licensed drivers in the U.S, according to a 2006 estimate from the Federal Highway Administration.

So, let's do the math.

9,600,000,000 miles divided by 202,800,000 = 47.3 miles

In other words, the average American driver in May of this year drove about 47.3 miles less than a year earlier, according to Transportation Department estimates based on tracking vehicle counts in about 4,000 locations nationwide. I think that's significant, but the fact is that Americans still drove about 254.6 billion miles in May 2008, a number that speaks for itself.

-- Steve Hymon

Photo: Itsuo Inouye / Associated Press