"People on this very board were giving up their cars and switching to other forms of transport. "
I wasn't among them. Some people are funny like that. I'm glad you like the Audi, Beet1e (and I really mean that, too).
Believe it or not, on that same trip to WVa(it was in the Spencer area), I actually saw a smaller vehicle which impressed me to a degree. We had to drive up a 1-lane dirt trail on the side of a fairly steep hill/small mountain. I managed to force the Buick up it, but couldn't turn around. It's a dead-end, so when we finished the day's business, there was only one way out. Lets just say that backing down a steep, wet, 1-lane dirt trail with no guardrails in a Buick sedan isn't exactly "incredibly safe". A buddy who was along was driving one of those Korean 4X4 mini-SUV's; I'm not sure of the specific model. Somehow, and I will never understand how this was possible, he managed to TURN AROUND within the space of that narrow lane and go down forwards. If I move to WVa (I've been considering it for some time), I think I'll probably invest in a similar sort of vehicle for use in those sorts of conditions.
"I think we should levy a variable rate tax against vehicles based on thier economy. The worse the gas mileage, the higher the tax."
We have this--it's called the gas tax. Use more gas, pay more tax. We have it, but I don't like it.
I dislike any tax like that because all it does is shaft the poor while having little to no effect on the wealthy. If you want to force people into crappy little econo-boxes, then at least force it on EVERYONE--including the rich and our leaders.
J_A_B