Fuel Prices Challenge Cars' Reign

Zandi said energy costs -- including electricity, gasoline and heating -- now account for about 6.5 percent of the average household budget. For the poorer half of the nation's households, energy costs are gobbling up close to 10 percent of family budgets.

Although the $4 barrier has symbolic importance, the bite out of household budgets is real. AAA calculates that the gasoline cost of commuting from Washington area suburbs to the District has increased sharply over the past year. The cost of the 44-mile round trip between Fairfax City and downtown Washington has risen to $8.93 a day from $6.78 last year for a commuter driving a car with average fuel efficiency. The cost of the 88-mile round trip between Frederick and the District has risen to $17.86 a day from $13.24.

In the past two days, the highest price for regular in the Washington area was $4.39, at two stations on Virginia Avenue in Northwest D.C. The local average yesterday was $4.09, according to AAA.

As a result, people have been trimming their driving.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, estimated vehicle miles traveled on U.S. roads for March fell 4.3 percent, or 11 billion miles, compared with March 2007. It was the first time that March travel on public roads fell since 1979 and the biggest yearly drop for any month in history.

In recent weeks, MasterCard has been reporting 4 to 5 percent declines in gasoline purchases. The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration has been reporting more modest declines.

"For 30 years, we've operated under the assumption that there are going to be more cars on the road," said David Portalatin, automotive analyst at NPD Group. "So we've developed drive-through windows, quick lube stations. We've done everything we can do service this on-the-go consumer. The biggest news is we've reached the point where we are starting to see some fundamental changes in consumer driving behaviors."

With consumers cutting back on their driving, many industry groups are worried. The Car Care Council, an association that promotes auto maintenance, has resorted to marketing the benefits of driving, arguing that even if gas hits $5, driving is still cheaper than flying.

"These soaring gas prices shouldn't sour our love affair with our vehicles," said Rich White, the council's executive director. He added that the changes in driving behavior may be temporary. "It's going to take a lot for Americans to give up that freedom of mobility that they cherish," he said.

The high oil prices, although beneficial for oil companies that have their own oil wells, are hurting many companies in the refining and marketing end of the business. Sam Darab, who fled Afghanistan after the Russian invasion, has been an Exxon dealer in Fairfax for 20 years, but he says low profit margins, competition from a big Safeway gas station and rising rents charged by Exxon Mobil are driving him out of business. Darab, a father of seven, plans to close his gas station Sunday.

"I work so hard," he said. "They have been so harsh with me."

Another Exxon dealer, Sohaila Rezazadeh, who was featured on the front page of The Washington Post last month, said yesterday that she can't advance the cash Exxon wants for deliveries and hasn't had any gas for four days. She said high rent and low profit margins had drained her accounts. She plans to close her station by the middle of this month.

Exxon Mobil had no comment on either of the dealers.