Until America has the same prices for fuel as our European counterparts, Americans are not only going to continue driving huge gas guzzling monsters but will also continue to rationalize that it is "Safer " for their children, etc.

It seems like a bunch of baloney to me. We also have very cheap utiiities, so why would we make the effort to insulate better or develop better weatherproof products like the Scandinavians use? right now if the price of fuel went up to $3 it would take several years to recoup the additional cost of a hybrid motor vehicle. Let's face it, we are not as environmentally sensitive because it is not such a hit to our wallets here in America.