One of the Internet stops I make in the morning is a nifty site called The Consumerist. In my visit moments ago, I found a link to this article. At first glimpse, I believed this was just another article on the shopping habits of those looking for new cars. However, it was the title for the post on The Consumerist that piqued my interest: Who is $4 Gas Hurting? Starbucks! Talk about combining 2 of my favorite topics! You all know that I love to rail against high gas prices and that I like to poke fun of good old Schultzie ... this is the confluence of some of my favorite things.

It turns out that $4 gas is causing people to find areas that they can cut in their budgets ... imagine that. According to Kelley Blue Book, "nearly three-quarters of new-vehicle shoppers see this as a permanent situation demonstrates the enormous effect that skyrocketing fuel costs can have on not just the auto industry, but the entire American economy." So, what does this have to do with Starbucks (SBUX: sentiment, chart, options) ? Kelley Blue Book's study indicated that 28% of new-car shoppers are forgoing the trip to the local coffee house, including SBUX, in order to offset the high price of gas.

While the spouse and I were looking to buy the new Fightbus, the price of gas and the mileage per gallon were definitely factors. But we never expected this ... gulp.