By James Pilcher
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Complaining about gasoline prices has long been an American pastime. The complaints are growing louder, as prices approach record highs in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

But experts and commuters agree that the point when the griping stops and significant lifestyle changes start is a lot farther down the road.

"It is ridiculous, but there's nothing else I can do about it," said Ina Murphy of Burlington, while she was filling her Dodge Durango Thursday at a United Dairy Farmers on Ky. 18. "I have to use this car for my business, like a lot of people need their cars to get to work," said Murphy, who was on her way to her nearby vegetable farm. "We might not like it, but there aren't many other options."

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded hit $1.90 in southwest Ohio Friday, according to figures compiled by the Oil Price Information Service. That's just a penny below the record set in June 2000. (Saturday's price was $1.89.)

Saturday's price in Northern Kentucky was $1.93, just a penny shy of that area's all-time high set in May 2001.

The national average, however, hit a new high for a second straight day on Saturday, peaking at $1.89.

Americans fixate on gas prices for three main reasons, even though they pay much less than Europeans do to fill up, thanks to much lower motor fuels taxes.

The first reason is the way gasoline is marketed in the United States. The price is visible from your car on just about any major road.

"People see those signs every day on their way to and from work, so they are very attuned to it, "said Roger Dreyer, president of the Ohio Petroleum Marketers Association.

"They don't put big signs up on the street by the gallon for milk and then fight over every last penny and change prices without warning, and that's one big reason people get so mad," said Dreyer, whose association represents gas stations and convenience stores from throughout the state. "We have the craziest pricing strategy - we're actually wearing out signs."

Indeed, gas prices have barely outstripped the rate of inflation since 1973.

A gallon of gas cost an average of nearly 39 cents that year, when the first "gas crisis" was caused by the OPEC oil embargo. Adjusting for inflation, 39 cents back then equates to $1.63 now. A gallon cost $1.31 on average in 1981, when the Iraq-Iran war crimped oil supplies again, which equates into $2.70 now.

Sins of the past

Remember the control of Standard Oil and the Rockefellers? Marketing experts and consumers say the second reason Americans love to hate gas prices is the long-time psychological baggage associated with old-time "oil barons."

"Oil has never been what you would call a thriving free market of our economy," said Jim Rubenstein, a geography professor at Miami University who has written two books on the auto industry.

Some consumers believe that those kinds of practices continue today.

"I think there is collusion going on between the big oil companies, who still manage to continue to turn in record profits," said Jim Keller, a retired sales manager from Evendale.

The final factor is that drivers have no other options to fill up their cars, Rubenstein said.

"There is no substitute - we're stuck with it," he said. "Right now, with beef prices so high, people can always switch to chicken. You can't do that with your car, especially if you use it to get to work."

Change unlikely now

That reliance on a commodity, the price of which is subject to the whims of daily futures markets and geopolitical situations overseas, also means drivers won't change their behaviors anytime soon, experts say.

"Gasoline is very inelastic, inasmuch as prices don't drive demand as much as say, Crest vs. the Kroger house brand," said David Curry, a marketing professor and pricing expert at the University of Cincinnati. "You might see some people reconfigure their leisure time and vacation over the summer if (prices) continue to stay high, but everyday driving won't change much over the short term."

Curry doesn't think that $2 a gallon for regular unleaded is a magic "tipping point" that will lead many to drive less or give up their cars.

John Felmy, chief economist at the American Petroleum Institute, which represents oil companies in Washington, agrees with Curry.

He says that prices have to stay high for an extended period and show no sign of dropping before drivers start really committing to mass transit, car pooling, and even higher-mileage vehicles.

"What we learned in the past, and especially in 1981, was that consumers won't change their behavior until there is the perception and expectation that prices are permanently higher," Felmy said.

Change in habits

Yet a recent survey commissioned by Progressive Insurance found that 50 percent of 1,000 people surveyed said that they would change their driving habits as a result of increased costs at the pump.

The survey also said that 92 percent of responders would drive out of their way to buy gas that was 20 cents a gallon cheaper, and 19 percent plan on vacationing closer to home. The e-mail survey of a random sample was conducted from April 12 and 13 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Contrary to the poll, MU's Rubenstein says behaviors wouldn't change until prices get higher because gas makes up less of our budget, adjusting for inflation, than it once did.

"Mainstream America truly isn't feeling it yet and not hurting, even if it is visible and annoying," he said.

Nonetheless, Bonnie Kennedy of Hebron is doing her part to cut her gasoline costs.

Filling up her Ford Taurus this week at the same station as Murphy, she said she is staying home as much as possible to save on gas.

"I coast whenever I can, too," Kennedy said. "I used to be able to fill this thing for $10, and now it costs $20 to $25. I've got to go to work, but other than that, I try to stay home."

E-mail jpilcher@enquirer.com