We are repeating gasoline mistakes

It seems we fail to learn from our past no matter how many times it is repeated.

Case in point, the oil crisis we are now enduring where gas prices are hovering around $3 a gallon and threaten to go even higher at the first threat of a big wind in the Gulf this year. We?ve been here before, back in the 1970s, yet we fell into the same hole we did 30 years ago.

Sure, I think we have some major profiteering on the part of big oil. The billions in profits reported quarterly will tell you that, no matter what their talking heads are telling us. However, let?s not make the same mistake we did during the last big oil price increases and try to put caps on the price of gas. All that did was create massive shortages. Big oil still made its billions while motorists sat in massive gas lines.

Of course, we as Americans forget the past and moan and groan when it repeats itself. Let?s flash back to the 1960s and 1970s, leading up to the first major oil crisis. What was the same then as now? Big vehicles which are major-league gas guzzlers.

Back then big cars were the rage. Everyone wanted a big old Cadillac, which got about the same mileage as a tank. Our demand was overwhelming and prices began to rise.

Flash forward to now. Get out on the road and see what people are driving. They are driving big old SUVs which suck down gas like it?s going out of style. They are today?s version of the huge Cadillac of the 1970s. Everybody?s got one.

Sure, there?s a few gas conscious SUVs but those are the exception more than the rule. Most of these big tank-like vehicles drain the tank so quickly you can sit there and watch the needle move.

It only took us about two decades to forget the lessons of the past. The rich oil sheiks of the Middle East knew that by dropping the price of gas they would return our gas-guzzling nation back into their oil junkies. Making it even worse now is that every time we visit the pump a few cents of every dollar is going to buy weapons to kill Americans.

So, what was the remedy back in the 1970s? Did Americans just quit driving so much? No. What happened was the design and production of more fuel efficient cars which got 35 mpg. Sure, we drove as much but we didn?t use as much gas doing it, therefore the demand for gas went way down forcing OPEC to drop its prices and wait for us to get greedy again.

However, what really bothers me is how we?ve missed the boat again. Just like in the 1970s, Detroit has failed to see the writing on the wall and begin producing a new breed of vehicle. If you will recall, an offshoot of the gas crisis of the 1970s was a near death blow to Detroit issued by Japanese auto makers.

Now, already we have massive layoffs in Detroit while Toyota has hit all-time sales highs. And, this time there?s a new player in the auto business in China. This time, they plan to be the new Japan and profit from America?s move to more efficient vehicles.

Folks, there?s entire countries basing their economies on American mistakes. What happened to the country which used to be way ahead of the curve when it came to innovation? Shoot, we can?t even come out with an original movie at the theaters anymore since everything nowadays is a remake.

And, just like the movies, the oil crisis, and eventual recession brought by foreign automobile dominance, will be a remake of the early 1970s version, just with new actors, directors and producers.

Duane Sherrill is a reporter for the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].