Tipping Point

So $4.00/gal is the tipping point:

• the point where people notice the cost of driving to the north side of town and back.
• the point where people contemplate buying a used compact car and leaving their big diesel trucks at home.
• the point where General Motors finally realizes that its business model had a critical flaw.
• the point where Honda Fits and Nissan Versas and Toyota Yarises are flying off the lots and the street price of a used Chevy Geo is several thousand dollars.

The SUV is doomed. People are driving less.

And just in the nick of time, the State of Texas finishes the Katy Freeway expansion -- putting the final touches on the Interstate west of Houston, widening it to 18 lanes of aggregate goodness.

Years from now, we will shake our heads. The question is: what do we do in the meantime?

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