Buying a new car is now going to cost you extra — $1,300 extra by 2016. President Obama announced new fuel and emission standards today in Washington. According to the president, the new standards are expected to lower our dependence on foreign oil, increase fuel efficiency, and reduce the amount of harmful emissions caused by automobiles. He also said the standards are a win-win for both states and automakers:

Obama said the proposal would save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the vehicles sold in the next five years, akin to removing 177 million cars from the roads over the next 6 1/2 years.

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AutoNation’s CEO Mike Jackson seems to think so. But before you light the torches and summon the pitchforks, hear him out. Granted, you still may disagree, but he makes a valid point.

In a recent interview with Fortune’s Carol Loomis, Jackson said that establishing a “revenue-neutral gas tax” would help establish a floor under gas prices at about $3.50-$4.00 a gallon. Jackson insisted his strategy of taxation in order to establish the price floor shouldn’t begin until after the economy recovers.

If your first thought is “is this guy crazy?”, I’m sure you’re not alone. But Jackson is the CEO of the nation’s largest auto retailer, and if high gas prices adversely affect anyone, it’s him.

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After oil prices retreated drastically from their historic highs last July, certain members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are modifying their “fair” price expectations in accordance to the global recession:

[Qatar's oil minister Abdullah bin Hamad] Al-Attiyah, whose country is one of the 12 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said he was “trying to be more pragmatic” about prices and that $50 is and “OK price for 2009″ given the current economic climate.

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There’s nothing like a global recession to help bring down oil prices:

World oil demand is contracting faster than expected, increasing pressure on prices, OPEC said on Friday ahead of a key meeting this weekend of the group.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said global demand will fall by 1.01 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2009 to average 84.61 million bpd. Its previous forecast was for demand to contract by 580,000 bpd.

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Over the last few months, we ran a survey in our weekly Market Trends Newsletter that revealed how cheaper gasoline prices have influenced not only our readers’ driving habits, but their savings habits as well.

When we asked our readers whether they were driving more since gas prices plummeted, nearly 77% said “No, I’m driving less than before.”

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According to a recent Gallup poll, despite oil prices that have fallen nearly $100 a barrel, the majority of Americans are continuing to drive less. Lack of demand has allowed cheap gas prices to put some money back in consumers’ pockets:

Even though prices at the pump are now about 45% lower than they were a year ago and significantly below $2 a gallon, 52% of Americans told Gallup that they have not gone back to their old gas-guzzling ways.

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The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) concluded their 151st (Extraordinary) Meeting of the OPEC Conference today by cutting their daily output by 4.2 million barrels from September levels. Today’s announcement did little to bring oil prices anywhere near the range Saudi Arabia’s oil minister had hoped for at the beginning of the month. After the meeting, as of 11:40 a.m. EST, oil futures dropped by 7.4%, or $3.27, to $40.35 a barrel.

The over-$100 decline in oil prices since July forced OPEC to call two additional meetings in order to develop a production strategy that would return the price of crude back to a “fair” price. We reported at the beginning of the month that “Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said $75 a barrel was a sufficient and fair target for oil prices that would keep global oil projects and production on time and efficient.”

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Not only are oil prices dropping to historic lows, they remain one of the only portions of our economy putting money back in consumers’ pockets. Oil futures closed the week down $2.85, or 6.5%, to $40.81 — the largest weekly decline recorded since 1991. Crude-oil futures finished the day down to levels not seen since December 2004. A strengthening dollar as well as November’s unemployment report were the main proponents that continued to spiral prices:

“The fall in employment was brutal,” said James Williams, an energy economist at research firm WTRG Economics. “Folks without jobs drive less, and those in fear of losing their jobs are minimizing expenditures.”

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Crude-oil futures dropped as low as $46.82 a barrel yesterday, the lowest level since May 2005 — a decline of over $100 since oil prices peaked in July at $147.27 a barrel. Yet, what continues to seem like good news to consumers has left some economists skeptical:

“The negative wealth effect [among households] is far outweighing any benefit that lower gas price is having on discretionary spending,” said Chris Hyzy, chief investment officer for U.S. Trust, the private wealth management unit of Bank of America.

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Within the past month talks have intensified over the possibility of rising gas taxes. So far, the thrust of conversation continues to come from op-eds, blogs, and media outlets rather than from the Senate floor. Senator Jeff Bingaman says discussion involving increasing gas taxes are “off the table” because the politics surrounding gas prices are “problematic:”

The problem, as Jimmy Carter can attest, is that higher gas taxes are political poison. That’s why they get a lot more traction on op-ed pages than the floor of Congress.

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