Everyone,understand this--the major "consumer" gas consumption is not recreational--it is work related--many, many people commute between 50 and 90 miles a day, or more--and, even in the major metropolitan areas, there is very little public transportation---and most people do not live within walking distance of shopping areas--

PeterK(Fionn)--What you say about blacks not travelling while whites travel is not true--I can assure you that blacks families own cars in nearly the same proportion as whites--and they drive just as much, if not more, for "recreation"--Furthermore, blacks tend to like, and buy, the same gas guzzling SUV's as whites(and others, because the US is not a black/white kind of place)--