The point I was responding to wasn't higher prices - it was the point of using taxes levied against only "someone's" idea of what should be penalized (i.e. the Excursion) to subsidize those who they think should reap the benefits from those additional taxes (the Prius/electric owners).
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Now, our country seems to be crippled by gas prices at a tad over $4.00. What would we do if that became $8.00 or $10.00 and alternatives were unavailable? If small cars are hard to locate at the current prices, what will happen later?
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Firstly, although there's much talk, I don't think the country has become crippled by the prices and isn't close to being crippled by them. There's some pain and some higher prices but no mass crippling. The gas crisis of the early 70s was crippling since gas often couldn't be found at any price.
I rented a car in Europe last summer and drove all over. Their gas prices are more than double ours. They don't seem to be crippled although I'm sure it affects their driving habits. There are some smaller cars but there are also plenty of larger cars and even SUVs and the roads have plenty of cars on them. They haven't different geographical issues than us though whereby their countries are much smaller with trucks driving shorter distances. They also have a lot of centralized citied which helps when trying to make use of mass transit. We have NYC and San Francisco but spreadout cities like LA, San Diego, Phoenix, Dallas, Denver, etc. are a real challenge in this regard.
Manufacters are already gearing up their smaller more fuel efficient vehicles. Several manufacturers have announced they increased their build plans. Meanwhile, SYV and pickup truck factories are shutting down. It looks like the prices alone are achieving what many people want. the good old laws of supply and demand are working yet again.