I am sure “American voters” eagerly support 60 mpg cars — for somebody else to buy.

What “American voters” actually buy for themselves, though, is best reflected by the sales data, and that indicates trucks, SUV’s or “crossovers,” cars with considerable power and luxury, and large or supposedly mid-sized cars that get actual mileage in the 20′s. The only way these kinds of vehicles will get a collective 60 real-world mpg is if we repealed the laws of physics, measured their mileage going down a steep hill, made them extremely expensive, or used voodoo mathematics. “American voters” have consistently demanded such vehicles for many years and have just as eagerly ignored high-mileage cars. 60 mpg cars??? I’m dubious. There’s a vast and amusing disconnect here.

Just because “American voters” or “the public” theoretically support some goal is effectively meaningless unless their actions back up that support, and unless someone can actually deliver on those ideals (and that would be the engineers, not the politicians in the picture trying to take credit).

If they raise Gas tax, the impact will be so quick most of the folks will have no way to deal with it. If new vehicles are coming with higher MPGs, then the impact is gradual, but most importantly, the impact is on the folks who can afford a new car in the first place. Slowly infrastructure will get developed to support a society which uses less oil.

Comparison to Europe is not an apple to apple comparison due to geographical differences.