You might think that us Americans, strapped for cash just now because we're in a depression and everything, wouldn't go running back to gas-guzzlers just because gas prices were falling. Even if you didn't think it was even remotely possible for gas prices to go back up—when have gas prices ever risen?—putting cheaper gas in a fuel-efficient car means you'll have more money in your pocket for other expenses. Cheaper gas + fuel efficient car = more money on hand for piddling things like food and housing and health care. And should gas prices ever go back up—just a hypothetical, I realize, it's not like there's another war breaking out in the Middle East or anything—you won't be stuck filling up your year-old SUV with $5-a-gallon gas.

But Americans are morons:

Trucks and sport utility vehicles will outsell cars for the first time since February, according to a December report by Edmunds.com, which tracks industry statistics.... "It was this summer that customers were concerned about the gas mileage. It hasn't been a topic of conversation lately," said Dave Lawson, the general sales manager at Pomoco Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Newport News.