Very much so on cars. The world (excluding the US) mandate a high fuel efficiency rating on all cars. This will only continue to rise to 70 miles per gallon and will change the shape and materials vehicles are made from.
The rest of the economy is dependent on oil in one form or another. Until more biologically derived plastics or packing is developed, we're tied to oil.
Unless we can develop vehicles that can haul as much and travel as far as trucks, we will have a serious slowdown in the economy since we can't move goods from port to market in a cheap and efficient manner.
As far as airline tickets, those will be more expensive as oil gets harder to find and more expensive. I can see us traveling in airships again!How could the aboundance of oil/gasoline consumption today affect tht demand for cars in the future?
Decrease in the next 30 years of heavy gas consuming vehicles and most definitely a high increase in oil prices that will drive to an alternative dependency.
I believe that oil will only affect the demand for cars in the short run. In the long run, capitalism will find a solution.
While I believe that we are most likely nearing the peak of our oil production, I think the government is only hurting future development by artificially raising fuel standards. People will start to vote with their dollars towards PHEVs, fuel cell vehicles, and biofuels once it becomes economically feasible. I am incredibly bullish on the prospect of some of these future technologies.
So, to give a brief answer.. In the short run, I believe that automakers may see a hiccup in the market. However, in the long run people will always buy cars.. what powers them might just change pretty dramatically.
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