The unbelievable has happened: Gas prices have fallen below $2 a gallon, hitting $1.989.  So, what does this mean for America?  The SUV market will pick up?  Carmakers will stop plug-in hybrid technology?  No, absolutely not.

But, are gas prices at this ultra-low a good thing?  Actually, probably not.  Of course, this past summer when people were struggling to fill up their tanks because of high gas prices, they would have welcomed these low prices.  In fact, roadside assistance calls were at an all time high because people were avoiding fill-ups and running out of gas.

It’s obvious that with the economic crisis we’re experiencing high gas prices would be disastrous.  However, the reason gas prices have dropped so low is largely due to the economic crisis that has caused demand to be lowered so dramatically.

Recently, President-elect Barack Obama got it right in his “60 Minutes” interview, when he said, “”This has been our pattern: We go from shock to trance. You know, oil prices go up; gas prices at the pump go up, everybody goes into a flurry of activity. And then the prices go back down and suddenly we act like it’s not important, and we start, you know, filling up our SUVs again.”

One thing is for sure, the shock will return and people will once again have to call for emergency roadside assistance when they run out of gas.  The only question is when it will be back.