*Rolling coal* is performed by temporarily running the engine ‘rich’ under load. It probably started as a protest in that doing so does not violate EPA standards for CO2 emission and several other ‘pollutants’ (I suspect the particle size of the carbon is greater than what is considered dangerous and regulated– unlike that from the deadly wood stove).
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As others above have noted, supply and demand has no bearing on a market based on artificial scarcity and addiction/(vital necessities). It is illusionary to pretend the ‘market’ dictates end-user expense, here.

The geopolitical ‘petro-dollar’ is a diplomatic *stick* to the *carrot* of not getting Freedom-Bombed like so many other nations who have tried to avail themselves of it. In the US, it is refining capacity and the requirement for many different blends (by region) that would otherwise probably still keep prices at the pump much above what we currently see. As such, I suspect this global collapse in oil/pump prices is a ploy to starve out Russia.

Michael @9: G is correct about “coal rollers”. I’ll also note that Chad is in upstate New York (specifically the Albany-Schenectady-Troy region), which tends to be quite a bit less liberal than New York City. While you would still find a few would-be coal rollers in the NYC metro area, big city drivers (either potential victims of coal rollers, or others who witness) are probably more likely to report coal rolling, which happens to be illegal (both making the modification in the first place and for intentionally creating a hazard to other drivers).

Coincidentally, right when the prices started falling, my commute tripled in distance, so i for one am grateful. The fact that i now have tolls and didn’t before completely negates any cost savings, however.

Complex systems are complex 😉

Gas prices down, people either save the money, or use it to pay down their debts. The unpleasant memories of the recent de’pre’ssion (that’s a contraction of “deep recession”) are still too vivid for the lesson to be forgotten entirely.

Also, even those who are at a point where they truly need to replace a vehicle, are probably thinking of the current price drop as a booby-trap or, at best, a temporary thing. To use some unpleasant language for it, the thought would be “those A-Rabs are just trying to jerk our chain,” and that wouldn’t be too far from reality.

Re. Michael @ 9: “Coal Rollers.” As far as I know, they aren’t actually operating their vehicles on coal. Instead they’re modifying the engines and exhaust systems to make the cars run as dirty (dirtily?) as possible, or they’re adding some kind of theatrical device that produces clouds of soot. Along the way they’re also damaging their engines, so those vehicles will drop dead long before their expiration dates. The early demise of the vehicles will tick off the people who are doing this, and be a lesson to their friends & neighbors, for which reason I think this fad will be quickly self-extinguished.

If any of that was true demand would be rising given the current economy, I would think.

Mostly, yes. But this is also true of most energy use. So this should generally apply.

once again us Canucks are getting ripped off by the oil companies – at least here in rural BC (West Kootenays). Last year when gas was at it’s highest price – around $1.38/l here a barrel of oil was over $100 USD. Today a barrel of oil is just under $50 USD and the price at the pump has not dropped under a $1/l here.