Picture this slice of history: America's roads awash in 200-inch-long boats-on-wheels. Within them are drivers, accustomed to high living standards and a higher sense of entitlement, who don't think twice of cruising along day in and day out, gulping a gallon of gas every 14 miles for the sake of size they hardly need and V8 power they rarely use. Greed is good, oil is cheap, and everyone is happy.Then the many powers that be decide that a market adjustment is in order. The tap undergoes a slower flow, gas prices jump to the sky, and consumers enter a state of panic, grief, and anger. Suddenly, a giant sucking sound sweeps from coast to coast, signifying the mass exodus of drivers from these behemoths into little tin cans. That, in a nutshell, is 1973. But except for the presence of a national 55 MPH speed limit (which will resurface if Mrs. Clinton gets her way), it could just as well be 2005 or 2006.One more thing linking past and present: excellent timing by Honda. Just as the Civic was born as our automotive antidote at the right place and time, Honda's heading into 2007 with its tiniest and thriftiest car yet. Named the Fit, it fits right beneath the Civic, gets twice the mileage of an SUV and costs half as much to buy.What's that saying about history repeating itself?