"We're seeing a cultural change here in the driving patterns as a result of gas prices," Mayo said. "Everyone who can is using our Metro rail and bus systems, and our employees are car pooling more than ever. And, we've seen more motorcyclists on the road and more people riding bicycles to work."

So many Southern Californians are garaging their gas-guzzlers, Mayo said her $600 million credit union has seen an increase in voluntary surrenders and repossessions of SUVs and inefficient cars. And, she said, Telesis is not the only one.

In response, Mayo said Telesis-lead CUSO Autoland expanded into the remarketing business earlier last week, opening resale lots in Southern California and Oregon.

"We had many good-sized credit unions saying they wanted it," Mayo said. "The idea is, maybe there's a potential for a better price than what they're getting going to auction. It just makes you sick to see the few cents on the dollar they're getting for perfectly good cars."