I don’t think it’s my imagination. I now have a 12 mile commute, mostly on a freeway that starts as a 55 and changes to 65 as it gets further from the center city. Ordinarily drivers start heading up toward 80 about a mile before the signs change to 65. But recently I’ve noticed a big change- drivers are actually driving under the limit, averaging around 60, obviously because of gas prices. There is a significant savings by going 55.

Now my observations take place in a relatively wealthy suburban area where big cars and SUVs are still dominant. I’m guessing these guzzlers are becoming real financial liabilities. In the car business when you owe more for a vehicle than it is worth you are ‘upside-down’, a very bad place to be. If you’re upside-down when you go to trade-in the excess liability is often added to the loan for the new car- meaning you’re still upside-down even if you down-sized to something more efficient.

This is problematic for our economy. The rising fuel prices are a tide that raises all boats in ways we couldn’t have predicted. Even if you want to trade your SUV for a Civic it’s going to cost you and a lot of us are going to be even more in debt meaning we won’t be spending as much.

I drove by a local Hummer dealer the other day. It was a forlorn sight: A lot full of dinosaurs that had an extinction event and a showroom devoid of humans. Given the morons that typically bought these things one can’t help but feel that karma has kicked in. Unfortunately no one, no matter how righteous, is exempt from the karmic effects of our criminally conspicuous consumption.

The tide is rising.