You are right, Bliss. Oil is not expensive when adjusted for inflation.
Trouble is, we were addicted to ridiculously cheap oil for a long time so we built homes on cheap lots way out beyond suburbia and bought suvs to commute with. Many are now commuting 50 to 80 miles round trip on the west coast. Both husband and wife, each with their own vehicle.
Oil is used for plastics, tires, fertilizer and many other things besides transportation and heating we normaly associate it with.
It has to have some impact on discretionary spending eventually but we consume too much in the USA anyway. It will be good for us to retrench a bit...
Anyway, I agree oil is still a good investment, especially compared with almost anything else. Railroads (BNI) now with p/e of 25 and yield of barely over 1%, what are people thinking?