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(AP) - Nearly half the country thinks near-record
gasoline prices will cause serious hardship, prompting ever more
people to consider trading their gas guzzlers for more
fuel-efficient cars, an AP-Ipsos poll says.

      Yet there are signs that more people also are clinging to their
driving and vacation habits while grudgingly accepting the higher
price tag. 

The government said this week that prices for a gallon
of regular gasoline had hit a nationwide average of $3.22, nearly
50 percent higher than in January and pennies shy of the all-time
mark.

      Forty-six percent said spiking gasoline prices are causing them
severe financial problems, said the poll, released Friday at the
Memorial Day weekend's unofficial start of the summer driving
season. 

That measure of public pocketbook pain is up slightly from
last year and appreciably above the 30 percent figure of June 2004,
when AP-Ipsos first asked the question.

      Despite the skyrocketing cost, slightly fewer people than last
year said they are reducing their driving, trimming other expenses
or curtailing vacation plans due to higher energy costs. 

Asked to
name a fair price for a gallon of gasoline, for the first time most
volunteered $2 and up, and not less than $2.

      "It's worrisome, but I don't feel I have much control over
it," said Ann Meyer, 39, of Phoenix. "I guess I'm
getting used to it."

      Clearly, rising prices are having a broad impact on people's
habits. The 47 percent who said they are considering buying a more
fuel efficient car is up from 39 percent a year ago.

      That could further feed a trend that has seen compact cars grow
from about one-fifth of the new car market in 2001 to nearly one-third
this year, according J.D. Power and Associates, which analyzes the
automobile industry. 

Hybrids running on both gasoline and
electricity now have 3.4 percent of the market, up from 0.4 percent
in 2004.

      Even so, fuel costs will have to approach $4 a gallon and stay
there for about a year to trigger a major shift in consumer buying
patterns, said Power automotive analyst Tom Libby, because many
people expect this season's sky-high gas prices to subside later,
as they have before.

      The government's Energy Information Administration said last
Monday's average national price for regular gasoline of $3.22 a
gallon came in just below the March 1981 all-time monthly high of
$3.29, adjusted for inflation. It was actually selling for $1.42 at
the time.

      The Democratic-led House approved a bill this week outlawing
price gouging. The White House threatened a veto, saying it
amounted to price controls and would lead to long lines at gas
pumps.

      Gasoline consumption grew last week by 1.2 percent over the same
period a year ago, as measured by four-week periods the agency
calculates. That was slightly less than officials expected, which
they attributed to the piercing of the psychological barrier of $3
per gallon.

      "But it also wasn't negative," Doug MacIntyre, an oil market
analyst at the agency, said of the slower growth. "We're not
seeing demand go down."

      Overall, when asked whether rising gasoline prices would cause
financial hardship for them or their family over the next half
year, seven in 10 said yes, about the same as last year. The number
who foresaw a "serious hardship" was up from 43 percent to 46
percent.

      Of those who said the higher costs were seriously hurting them,
two-thirds said they compare prices before refilling their tanks -
a practice about evenly shared among genders, races and income
levels.

          Large numbers of people were still taking other steps to save
money due to energy price increases, yet fewer said so than a year
ago. Those reducing their driving went from 66 percent last year to
62 percent now, including large proportions of women and older
people.

      Those changing vacation plans dropped from 49 percent in 2006 to
42 percent this year, while the number paring other expenses fell
from 66 percent last year to 60 percent now.

      Robert Gilliam, 40, an insurance claims adjuster from
Clarksboro, N.J., said he now uses a sedan instead of a sport
utility vehicle to save money for the 2,500 miles a month he drives
for work. He said he is not cutting back on family vacation plans.

      "That's our one guilty pleasure," he said.

      Economics professor Peter Orazem of Iowa State University said
gasoline costs are about 3 percent of the average household's
budget, so even stark increases in gas prices have a muffled impact
on people's overall expenditures.

      In the poll, 40 percent said the fair price for a gallon is less
than $2, down from 49 percent a year ago. This year, 49 percent
said a fair price for a gallon is $2 to $2.99, with another 6
percent naming even higher prices.

      "Markets can train us over time to get used to things," said
Tim Heath, marketing professor at Miami University of Ohio.

      The AP-Ipsos poll involved telephone interviews with 1,000
randomly chosen adults between May 15 and 17. The margin of
sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.
      

Gallery

Rising gas prices cause hardship for low-income drivers

Gas prices soar to record high in Minnesota

Are big cars still kings of the road?

Nearly half the country thinks near-record
gasoline prices will cause serious hardship, prompting ever more
people to consider trading their gas guzzlers for more
fuel-efficient cars, an AP-Ipsos poll says.

Jack Myszka pumps gasoline into his sport utility

Poll: People worried about, yet accepting of, higher gas prices

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