Hawai'i continues to pay the highest gas prices in the nation but stubborn drivers still refuse to trade in their gas-guzzling SUVs or change their driving habits to squeeze out better mileage.

Sun-Ki Chai, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Hawai'i, spends more to fill up his 1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass and knows he could save on gas — and money — by properly inflating his tires and doing other things like consolidating his trips and keeping his trunk empty.

"I'm like most people; I haven't done much of anything to change," Chai said. "It takes a certain amount of mental and emotional energy. People know at some level they will save money in the long run but it's 'all the work is now and the benefits come later on.' It's not such a huge deal that they'll sit down and actually do it."

With more money going into their gas tanks, consumers have less to spend on other things, which hits small businesses especially hard at the same time that the local and Mainland economies are slowing down.

"If people are paying more for gasoline, they obviously have less to spend on other things," said Ken Schoolland, associate professor of international trade at Hawai'i Pacific University. "Small businesses, in particular, are hit two ways: Their costs go up directly and they get less consumer spending."

The price of a gallon of regular gas shot up to $2 in late 2003, then jumped past $3 per gallon in 2005. Yesterday, the statewide average sat at $3.48, according to AAA Hawaii, with Honolulu averaging $3.36 per gallon.

At the Kaka'ako Lex Brodie's Tire Co., gas attendant Josephine Teleni now has some regular customers asking for the mid-level grade of gas for their luxury cars instead of premium.

"We say, 'You sure your car doesn't take premium?'" Teleni said. "They say, 'Too expensive already.'"

Lex Brodie customer Joanie Teruya sat in her 2004 Toyota 4Runner yesterday and insisted that she has few options with three children to drive around.

"I'm the taxi mom," she said. "I have to pick them up and drop them off. There's no way I can adjust."

Even though it costs Teruya $60 to fill up the 4Runner each week, it's definitely cheaper than her other option — the family's new, decidedly fuel inefficient 2007 BMW X5 SUV.

"The BMW is definitely a guzzler," Teruya said.

Teruya may be something of an anomaly in choosing to drive the 4Runner over the more elegant BMW.

John Hart, associate dean of communication at HPU, looks at consumers who buy luxury cars and "monster SUVs they have no intention of taking off road" as people trying to make a "statement of conspicuous consumption. It's, 'I know I paid a ton of money and everyone knows it costs a ton of money to drive.'"

Even with gas prices hurting everyone in the past few years, Hart said, "the overall message is, 'Look at me. I can afford to do this.' It's all part of the choices we make about our appearance, how we cut our hair, what clothes we choose to wear and the house we buy. It's making a statement about the image we want to project."

Some drivers, like Johnny Blaise of Kalihi, are less worried about making a statement and have consciously tried to ease the hit of higher fuel costs.

Lately, Blaise has been bringing lunch from home "but I miss my plate lunches," he said. "And I gotta go to the movies."

Blaise, a carpenter, has to drive his 1998 Ford Explorer to get to work in Ma'ili every day. Yesterday, he spent $58 for 17 gallons of regular at Lex Brodie's.

"Mean, huh?" Blaise said. "Gas is killing me."

Catherine Jayne, a public administration master's candidate at the University of Hawai'i, lives with her parents in Pearl City and they all try to carpool into town together.

"We don't want to be buying gas for two cars if we don't have to," she said.

Jayne also eats simple lunches at her grandmother's home near 'Iolani School whenever possible instead of eating out at places like California Pizza Kitchen.

It's that kind of change in spending habits that's already rippling through Hawai'i's economy just as fewer tourists are visiting the Islands and the real estate market is stagnating.

"Higher gas prices are one more thing pushing us toward a slower economy in Hawai'i," said Leroy Laney, an HPU professor of economics and finance. "Real estate sales have dropped in the last couple of years, new car registrations are down, the visitor industry is down, construction is slowing down. All these things are adding up. So discretionary spending, like eating out, is going to suffer."

Like Laney, Jack Suyderhoud, a UH professor of business economics in the Shidler College of Business, understands the overall forces pushing on Hawai'i's economy. But it's still hard for even economic minds such as Suyderhoud's to make personal changes to compensate.

He has switched from premium to mid-grade fuel for his Mini Cooper S model. But he still hasn't checked his tires to make sure they're properly inflated.

"I've been thinking about my tire inflation for weeks," Suyderhoud said. "Like a lot of people, I've just been too lazy."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.