It also shows that just because someone writes for the WSJ, that doesn't mean that they know wtf they are talking about. It's more than likely just hype to sell papers. The income gap between buyers of sport utilities and buyers of cars is greater than the gap in the fuel economy of their vehicles. Consider, for example, a Chevrolet Suburban and a Ford Taurus mid-size sedan. There is little sign so far that buying habits have changed, perhaps because gas prices are still not that high.
Small cars have better mileage but even less affluent owners.
A Ford Expedition sport utility vehicle burns 93 percent more gas than a Dodge Neon driven the same number of miles. Yet a median household buying a new Expedition also earns 118 percent more than a Neon-buying household. If today's higher oil prices lead to a recession, a stock market crash or much higher interest rates, as has sometimes happened in the past, then the auto industry and sales of sport utility vehicles will be devastated. Even without such a calamity, higher gas prices might prompt a few of the less prosperous families who buy sport utilities to switch to more fuel-efficient alternatives. Some Republicans, including Gov. George W. Bush of Texas this year and former Senator Bob Dole during the 1996 presidential campaign, have sought the repeal of the 4.3-cent federal gas tax increase enacted in 1993.