Car sales

Why the free market is awesome:

More than 7 percent of pickup owners switched to a small car, compared with 4 percent in August 2004, while 8.7 percent of SUV owners switched to a small car, compared with 5.5 percent the year before. The data shows that vehicle owners in every segment - including vans and luxury sedans - switched to compact or subcompact cars in higher numbers.

Prices increase and consumers respond accordingly. This is why talk of a national energy policy is overblown. We already have a policy -- it's called the marketplace.