Why Nobody Believes Cheap Gas Is Here to Stay

We're bracing for the end of $2-per-gallon fill-ups

Drivers are enjoying the extra money in their pockets after a trip to the gas station, but economists can’t figure out why we’re not going crazyspending all those extra bucks. Now, two new reports reveal what Americans are really thinking: We don’t believe this cheap gas is here to stay.

A survey released las week by the Consumer Federation of America finds that 57% of Americans say the miles per gallon they’ll get out of the next car they purchase is “very important,” and almost nine in 10 say it’s either very important or important. That’s probably because, on average, we expect gas prices to hit $3.20 again in two years, and shoot up to $3.90 in five years. (The highest gas has ever been was in the summer of 2008, when the national average hit $4.11 per gallon.)

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