I was right on the (gas) money :-)

All of a sudden, I remembered that when we lived in California there was a strange spring/summer when we had electricity shortage (we found out later on how much Enron was a part of it!) There was also a sudden jump in gas prices. A reporter from the local paper, the Bakersfield Californian, talked to me about this, and re-reading that news item, I am mighty impressed about what I had to say. Read it for yourself:

Gas pricemarks pushing $2-a-gallon ; local drivers 'don't mind,' expert says
Filed: 09/14/2000
By CHIP POWER Californian staff writer e-mail: ppower@bakersfield.com

Statewide gasoline prices are kissing the $2-a-gallon level, with Bakersfield motorists near the head of the line.
Local prices now are $1.97 a gallon for self-serve regular, according to a AAA Motor Club survey, nearly 12 percent higher than a month ago. The statewide average in California, which has the highest gas costs among the continental states, was $1.86. San Francisco prices are at $2.05
Fuel industry analysts have dismissed the effects of the increase in crude oil production promised by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries as being too little, too late to affect U.S. retail petroleum prices this winter.
Some analysts are speculating about possible energy shortages if the United States encounters a colder than normal winter. The accuracy of these predictions is difficult to verify.
As long as the U.S. economy hums along with little threat of inflation or a recession, most confident motorists are shrugging off the current high prices with little changes in their driving or purchasing behavior, said Sriram Krishnamurthy, a Cal State Bakersfield economist specializing in environmental resources.
"People don't mind spending a few extra bucks here and there if they feel like the economy is humming along," said Krishnamurthy.
However, there does come a point when people may cut back their driving and avoid the popular, gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles, he said.
When that adjustment comes is hard to say, but Krishnamurthy said it would likely be well past $2 a gallon and would also need to be accompanied by a big change in the larger economic picture, such as higher interest rates, shrinking job growth or run-amok inflation.
"If you had those sort of changes, vehicles such as the Jeep Cherokee would sell at a discount instead of a premium," the economist added. But that hasn't happened yet.

I was right: it took a few things to come together for people to run away from SUVs.
And, yes, Krishnamurthy was my last name before I legally changed it.