Are Lebanese Roads Maxed Out?

The Lebanese have constantly joked that roads in Beirut are so full of cars you can’t fit any new ones in. Anecdotal evidence abound of malls with huge parking lots where one can’t find a single spot to park. So imagine my first thought when I read this report of Lebanon’s severe drop of car imports in 2011:

“The total number of imported vehicles plunged by 29.49 percent in 2011 to 67,022 units, its lowest level during the past four years,”

The drop is so large that Beirut harbor’s entire revenue went down by 5%. So what explains this drop in car sales? Where has the Lebanese appetite for four wheels gone? Here are my pet theories:

1. People are cutting down on cars because of the stress of the road, high fuel prices, inflation and economic shrinkage. People might have decided to do more car pooling and use more public transportation
2. Uncertainty: A car is a relatively large purchase. People may be holding back to see how the things in Syria turn out.
3. Speaking of Syria: There could be a huge underground car trade with Syria that was killed because of the events there.
4. The roads are full. We can’t add more cars.

These are my theories. Can you think of anything else?