Reply #140: Except that there have always been high-mpg cars available

[NickB79]

Compact and subcompact cars, getting 40 mpg or better, have been around since the 1970's.

If the majority of Americans truly cared about environmental protection, global warming and Peak Oil, and followed their convictions, these vehicles would have been best-sellers for decades. Instead, every time gas prices came back down again, Americans went running for land yachts, trucks and SUV's.

Don't misunderstand me, I agree with what you're saying. I just think you give the American consumer too much credit in their ability to make rational decisions. Even today, the majority of Americans still think global warming isn't real, evolution isn't real, and Peak Oil isn't real. While oil companies, bribed congressmen and greedy car companies have been actively working against high MPG, most Americans have also been working against it passively through their ignorance of the issues despite the wealth of information at their fingertips.