Earth Equity News

Falling Oil Prices Has Detroit Second-Guessing Their Newly-Found Emphasis on Efficiency. By Ken Bensinger, LATimes, October 7, 2008. "Costly gasoline has pummeled vehicle sales in the U.S. this year and forced automakers to dramatically rejigger their lineups. They are closing truck factories, racing out small cars and investing in expensive alternative-fuel vehicles like hybrids and electric cars. Much of that planning was based on projections that gas would cost $5 to $6 a gallon for the foreseeable future. Those forecasts were made in the spring, when gas soared past $4. But in the last three months, oil prices have bucked automakers' expectations and steadily gone south. Now, auto company executives and experts are wondering whether carmakers will profit off the situation or take it in the teeth. Some fear that a prolonged downturn in gas prices could cause the industry to abandon plans to develop fuel-efficient vehicles."