This has resulted in Europeans buying smaller fuel efficient cars and being world leaders in fuel efficiency cars. It also resulted in that Europeans did not feel the same hardship of the speculative oil price hike of the last few years, because they were use to high prices.
It has caused Europeans to buy a form of transportation laughed at in the US, scooters. Scooters outsell cars every year as the most popular form of transportation worldwide. The US, with it's need to drive 7000lb vehicles for one person to get to work carrying a briefcase, has put us in the leaderboard of fuel consumption. In Europe my scooter would be the envy of the neighborhood, in the US I'm laughed at. Well, let's see who has the last laugh at the gas pump.
Of course being a Libertarian, I am 100% in favor of people having that right. But just like the ground zero mosque, I don't think it's a good idea. As they say, the right to do it doesn't make it the right thing to do. You cause issues when you do that. You don't need an 8mpg vehicle to get you to work when you can find a cheaper vehicle getting 5 times that and getting you to work in the level of comfort and in the same timeframe as the bigger vehicle.
Americans being fat, dumb and happy don't realize we're shooting ourselves in the foot. While some stand up and demand the right to buy Hummers, Escalades, etc, others are holding up charts of our consumption of fuel and how, per capita, it far exceeds any other nation on earth and then ask, "Where do we get this oil from?" Nations that hate us? Yep. You want to fund the terrorists these nations assist? Well, keep driving your SUV's. You're exercising your right, and well, so is Iran and Venezuela. I know, many people HATE to hear that "they fund terrorism" by driving gas guzzlers but, really, it's true. We aren't an oil independent nation and the vast majority of our oil comes from countries who wish us harm and who would gladly sell to China if we went down so yea, I mean it sucks BIGTIME to say, but it's true.
If we were 100% oil independent I wouldn't care less what people drove.