The geopolitical situation of the oil producing nations has been problematic for a long time. You might be right about gas price trends, but I seem to remember

The geopolitical situation of the oil producing nations has been problematic for a long time. You might be right about gas price trends, but I seem to remember gas staying below $2 until Hurricane Katrina (at least in the Southeast), and then the price undergoing a few discontinuous rapid increases. A long upward trend in prices doesn't disrupt their business plans, as long as the slope or the change in the slope remains roughly constant. Do you really think foresight in the auto-industry is that easy? Do you really think the executives of the American companies were that stupid? Is every company failure due to the stupidity of its executives? Can every failure be avoided? It often seems that way in hindsight. But personally I find it striking that the automakers in trouble were all catering to the American domestic market, and the ones doing well were all catering to small-car oriented foreign markets.