You go to the pump and there it is, in brilliant LCD: $51.57. Fifty bucks for a tank of gas. That's half a C note a week to get down the road, and it might soon be double that, as the summer months creep up and prices climb.

Already, the national average for gas prices has increased. According to AAA, prices are significantly higher than last year, and the expectation is that they will continue to rise. In some areas, that translates into a 20 cent or more increase at the pump; a startling fact when you consider that fuel prices aren't due to increase until the summer months. At this rate, the price per gallon of gas in some areas will top $3 at the height of summer prices.

The sudden spike is the result of low oil inventories and delivery problems, caused by an accident on the Mississippi river. After a brief period of stability, AAA expects fuel prices to begin to increase in April, as refineries switch over to a "summer mix" of fuel. With more vehicles on the road, refineries shift their processing to a lower polluting type of gasoline. The result is a gasoline double whammy, a merging of increases with no relief in sight. It's not a question of if - only when. The only real question is, will we continue to purchase sub 20 mpg vehicles when the price per gallon reaches $3 per? A dollar more per gallon translates into more than five cents additional per mile; based on 15,000 miles of driving per year, that means a real increase of almost $1,000 a year. That doesn't factor in the type of driver and the roads we drive on, nor does it account for the fact that most people drive more during peak months for fuel prices.