It's always touching to hear people's concerns for the poor when it comes to fuel prices. Two aspects of this come to mind. First, anyone driving a 12 mpg car is not really poor where I come from. Poor is rather when you don't own a car. Or maybe have one but can't afford to drive it. Most of the cost of ownership is other items than gas, be it 4 or 8 USD/gallon.

Second, think of who will suffer when we run out of oil or when climate changes hit us. People demonstrating against high fuel prices in US, where have they been the last years? Don't they read newspapers? Watch TV?

Even Bob Lutz suggested (about a year ago, in a long interview) that US fuel taxes be raised gradually and slowly over a decade or so, so that manufacturers and consumers get time to adapt. And you would think Bob had reason to argue against higher fuel taxes.