Gasoline to top $3.00 mark by mid-Summer?

Just days ago I mentioned that the average price for gasoline in these United States had topped the $2.00/gallon mark. Now analysts are pitching numbers that warn that we'll be paying more in the range of $3.00/gallon come mid-Summer. My comment then was "Roll out the hybrids".

However, it seems the look and make-up of hybrids throughout the industry may be in flux as well, according to Paul A. Eisenstein, writer for thecarconnection.com.

Consider this radical idea: Tax the bejesus out of new, off-the-assembly-line gas-guzzling and WAY-oversized SUV's and make them and their poor gas mileage the worst idea since forcing castor oil down childrens' throats. Couple that with tax and credit incentives to bring down the retail price and to advance the availability of electric, hybrid, and other alternative-fueled automobiles, and you might have a combination that would make a difference by weaning this country from its most egregious and polluting petroleum consumption habit. [Not to mention the issue of gross consumerism run amok.]

Just think, car-makers would not have to worry about designing sensible small cars that would be successfully defended against collisions with big SUV's (Six airbags? Where's the limit?), and urban planners and road architects would not have to design parking lots and driving lanes to accomodate the breadth and weight of the increasingly obscene behemoths.

Whither prices for airline jet fuel? If you're considering traveling in the next year you may want to monitor the industry and perhaps book flights early and quickly, before higher fuel prices are adjusted for. Airlines are loathe to sign deals for fuel purchases/deliveries if they think the price for fuel may drop in the near future. This penchant has left some of the bigger companies with low reserves as the Summer season approaches. This means they will be forced to purchase fuel at the going rate, which has soared in recent months; these costs are reflected in ticket prices.