President Barack Obama warned Americans to not get used to the low gas prices, but also said it would be all right if they wanted to buy a car with their windfall.

The stock market has hit the skids this week as investors scramble to figure out the good and bad of the oil prices that have dropped below $51 a barrel, which is driving gas prices to levels not seen in a decade.

The AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge reports that the price of gasoline across the U.S. has now fallen for more than 100 consecutive days, the longest streak on record, and the average price of gasoline around the nation has dropped below $2.20 per gallon or by more than 7 cents per gallon in the past week.

In many metropolitan areas, however, the price of gasoline has now fallen well below $2 per gallon with sign indicating prices have dropped to $1.70 per gallon.

While the slide has hastened the sale of full-size pickups and sport-utility vehicles, President Barack Obama reminded Americans that these prices are only temporary and families shouldn’t change their lifestyles based on the current trend.

“I would strongly advise American consumers to continue to think about how you save money at the pump because it is good for the environment, it’s good for family pocketbooks and if you go back to old habits and suddenly gas is back at $3.50, you are going to not be real happy,” he told The Detroit News yesterday. He is scheduled visit to Ford’s Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan, today.

Last year at this time, gasoline was selling for $3.31.7 cents per gallon.

He did suggest that consumers should enjoy the short-term slide and perhaps use the extra resources to save money or better still buy a new car or appliance. Recent sales results show Americans have taken the advice about a new vehicle to heart as auto sales have been up for the last two months.

Obama is visiting a plant where Ford produces fuel-efficient and alternative-fuel vehicles, in part, to serve as a reminder that gas prices will not remain at the current levels forever and that the administration is still supporting the production of more fuel efficient vehicles, especially since corporate average fuel economy ratings are required to be 54.5 mpg by 2025.

That said, buyers are looking for bigger vehicles that are less fuel efficient if recent trends are any indication. The average fuel economy (window-sticker value) of new vehicles sold in the U.S. in December was 25.1 mpg—down 0.2 mpg from November and down 0.7 mpg from the peak reached in August, according to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute’s monthly report.

Overall, the rating was improved in 2014 at 25.4 mpg compared with 24.8 mpg for 2013, the university noted. While the falling prices have influence buyers to open up their checkbooks, it seems to have confounded financial markets.

The steep slide in the price of petroleum and motor fuel has unsettled stock traders around the world, who are also reacting to a drop in the value of the euro, which has declined to its lowest level versus the dollar in nine years.  The combination of prospects for a government-led stimulus package, a political crisis in Greece and stalled economic growth have led to the drop in the value of the euro.

But most of the drop in stock indexes was blamed on the continuing drop in oil prices around the world as key producers have continued to pump crude despite growing inventories and slowing demand.

Crude oil prices have plunged more than 55% since June, when benchmark Brent traded above $115 a barrel and U.S. crude above $107.

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In Tuesday’s session, Brent LCOc1 closed down $2.01 at $51.10 a barrel. It earlier fell to $50.52, its lowest since May 2009, and less than a dollar away from breaking below the $50 mark.

In the first two days of this week, Brent has dropped $5.32, or almost 10%, according to Reuters.

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In addition, analysts, most of who were surprised and shaken by the drop in prices, turned against the energy sector, slashing they earnings estimates for 2015.

Despite a 23% drop in the S&P 1500 energy sector since the end of June 2014, stock prices still may not account for the drastically lowered forecasts for the sector’s earnings, particularly if oil prices continue to slide, according to analysts, who seem to be in a “fool-me-once-shame-on-you. Fool-me twice-shame-on me” mood on oil prices.

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Meanwhile, the debate over the implications of the drop in oil prices has intensified.

“Across Asia, the lowest crude prices since 2009 are an almost unmitigated boon. Already, they’ve given Indonesia and Malaysia room to curb budget-busting fuel subsidies (although Malaysia, an energy exporter, will suffer from a drop in oil revenues). In Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, sliding energy costs stand to boost disposable incomes, household demand and corporate profits,” one commentary posted on Bloomberg’s website noted.

Michael Strong contributed to this report.