I agree that some people do need a truck for work, but not as many people who actually do own trucks. My dad for example has an F-150 Supercrew 4 X 4 which he occasionally drives to Lowe's to pick something up. Look, my opinion is largely formed by having lived in Germany for several years. As far as I know, they have the same occupations in Germany, but very few Germans are driving trucks or SUVs. Station wagons rule the day and the few trucks you do see are Nissan and Toyota and are mostly all diesel with small diesel motors.

And yes, if an F-150 collides with my Xfire, I'm probably toast. The point is that the whole country needs to downsize what they're driving. If everyone takes the attitude that they'll drive something smaller when everyone else starts driving something smaller, what's the point? Ultimately, gas prices are going to depict what people drive and it's already starting.

By the way, a Prius isn't really all that slow. 0-60 in 9.7 There are plenty of cars out there in that acceleration range. The Camry Hybrid runs to 60 in 7.3. That's plenty fast for a family sedan. Nobody's asking anyone to buy a Prius, they're actually quite expensive. Hell, if people would just drive full size sedans vs trucks and SUVs, the difference in oil demand would be huge.

I will also say that we Americans are power hungry drivers. I'm as guilty as the next guy. In Germany, home of the wonderful Autobahn, most cars ironically have much less power than here. Most cars in Germany have very tepid acceleration compared to our cars. They'll still go 120 on the Autobahn, but it takes them a long time to get up to speed. Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Volkswagen's best selling models in Germany have much smaller motors than the smallest motor's available here in the same models. BMWs and Mercedes with 1.8 liter 4 bangers and about 140hp are quite common. Germans can appreciate a fine automobile even if it's slow to get up to speed. When I read German car magazines I am blown away by what they consider a good acceleration time compared to our magazines. Cars in this country have become very fast in the last decade, even economy cars.