Brick wrote:
<< ...but the threat of a sustained, dramatic increase much above what we see now is something to worry about. >>

Indeed it is. Very soon we will all look back at $3/gallon gas with fond remembrance. Most people haven't a clue as to how ugly it will get. Even filling up a 50mgp hybrid will make us cringe, albeit far less so than our neighbors with their SUV's. And if you think hybrids are hard to find now...

Jeff