Cars.com Almost Predicts $4 Gas Date

Nearly three weeks ago, I — senior editor David Thomas — picked Friday as the day we would hit $4 as the national average for a gallon of gas. Don’t believe me? Go check it out here. I was very, very close; as you may already know, we hit $4 today. 

Now, what does this mean? It means we’re paying 1.7 cents more for gas today than yesterday — when gas prices retreated almost half a cent — 39 cents more than a month ago, and 86 cents more than a year ago. Other than that, I think the $4 figure of today is completely psychological. There has been plenty of time — and certainly enough media coverage — for consumers to prepare for this day. We’ll have to wait out the summer driving season to see if prices retreat as they normally do every year when it ends.

The continual rise in cost with no relief over the past few months has been the real problem for drivers. Folks just don’t know when it will end. That in turn is fueling a surge in sales of smaller, more-efficient cars. The worry is that the $4 milestone is actually just a waypoint to an even higher figure. I won’t predict what that might be.   

If you think today’s price has more significance, let us know why in the comments below.