As a society, we have to move towards smaller vehicles. This is a given. It's so obvious that anyone who doesn't recognize this as fact should just shut the fuck up and step aside - in the interests of the greater good.
Small, fuel efficient vehicles solve the problem of energy dependence. Small vehicles solve the problem of freeway conjestion, by allowing more motorists to fit into the same road surface area. Small vehicles solve the problem of resource shortage, by using less resources in their construction. Small vehicles solve the problem of parking shortages in densely populated cities, by allowing more vehicles to fit into the same parking area.
Now, a major objection to smaller vehicles is safety concerns. Smaller and more economical vehicles are necessarily less safe when thrown into a stampede of elephant sized SUVs, vans, and monster sized pickup trucks. Recognizing this challenge, it is the nation's responsibility to institute poilicies that proactively address the issues of safety of small vehicles on the roads. It is the nation's responsibility to ensure that small vehicles can ride on the roads safely. Therefore, policies should be put in place specifically to protect smaller vehicles from the threat and danger of oversized vehicles. I propose levying appropriate taxes on larger vehicles to address the threat they pose to other motorists.
We can't permit a virtual arms race of ever larger vehicles - every person trying to one-up the next person in shifting the balance of safety to their advantage. Rather than smaller vehicles being considered a risk to their occupants, larger vehicles must be considered a threat to the occupants of smaller vehicles. Large, fuel inefficient vehicles are a primary contributor to our gas price crisis - as a direct result of their own gas consumption, and indirectly as a result of the ripple effect that they have in prompting others to move towards larger vehicles out of concern for their safety.
To solve the problems of the future, we have to take the bull by the horns and wrestle monster vehicles to the ground. An appetite for large things is not sustainable in a future of shrinking resources. Our policies must reflect that.