Does global peak oil sound the death knell of the SUV?

Today’s news that auto giant GM is shutting down four pickup truck and SUV factories thanks to spiraling gas prices will likely be seen as such by many global peak oil theory advocates.

Bill Bonner goes into further detail on the relationship between oil prices and a strange phenomenon gripping the US… Americans are driving less.

In the 1940s, the reason for the cutback in driving was obvious to everyone — the country was at war. The auto companies practically stopped making cars so they could turn their production to tanks, jeeps, and trucks. Oil too was diverted from leisure use in the 48 states and used to power ships and airplanes.

Now, something big has happened…for the first time since WWII, Americans are driving less.

America’s truckers too are pulling off the road. A report in the New York Times says that many cannot afford to fill their tanks. Diesel fuel is selling for as much as $5 a gallon. This puts the cost of filling a 250 gallon tank well above $1,000. And many truckers fill their tanks three times a week.

Naturally, the auto industry has to downshift. Not only because gasoline is so expensive, but also because the average household is struggling to pay its other bills too. After it pays the interest on its debt, it has less left over than ever before. And then, it has to pay for food, gasoline…and other things, many of them imported. Of course, food and energy are rising sharply, but until recently, Americans could count on low-cost Asian producers to cut prices on our imports. Now, import prices are rising at 14.8% — the highest rates since the early ‘80s.”