Quote:
Isn't it terrible how those soccer moms driving huge Exterras to get milk drove the gas prices up for hardworking guys like you and me?
I agree with you on that one. There are WAY too many soccer moms driving around in Escalades and Suburbans, just because they can. Having one or two kids doesn't constitute having a 22-foot truck!
As for the diesel prices in England, that's nuts. If gas prices went up to $10 a gallon here, I don't know what I'd do. I think our situation is a little different though.
As Americans, we use our cars for EVERYTHING, and, due to our single use zoning, a lot of our destinations are spread out far apart from one another.
European cities were designed and built around the pedestrian. Ours, particularly ones that "came of age" in the 1950s (like Atlanta and Los Angles), cater to the automobile. In places like these, there is no mixed use zoning, and no public transit to speak of. If you don't have a car, you don't have a life.
Even in more "traditional" areas, like Chicago and New York, there are few alternatives to the automobile. Because our government is in bed with the oil companies, most of our infrastructure budget goes to the roads and highways, so our existing public transit systems are on life support.
All of the mixed use zoning and high-speed rail you guys have in Europe is non-existent here. The automobile is all we've got.