Life's a bummer, when you're a Hummer

Breaking news. I was logging on to blog about something completely different when I saw a news story that was just released 4 minutes ago. GM has just announced that they will be closing 4 truck and SUV plants in the US. The move comes in response to lackluster sales in the wake of rising oil prices. American automakers have been slow to respond to the increasing demand for more energy efficient vehicles and will definitely be playing catch-up with foreign automakers now that US consumer demand has finally begun to shift. I am not interested in paying higher prices at the pump, but I have always hoped for increases in gas prices because it is the only thing that will get American consumers and, consequently, automakers to change their habits. We don't all need to be driving around in SUVs and large trucks to commute to work, pick up a few groceries, and drop the kids off at soccer practice. Sure there are people who could really use these vehicles regularly for what they were intended, but these people are a small minority.
The CEO of GM stated that this is likely a permanent market change and the article also states that the "iconic Hummer brand may also be discontinued." Only our culture of excess could turn a vehicle like the Hummer into an icon. With an achieved MPG for the H2 that is lucky to reach double digits and a big hulking mass that will crush anyone in its path, or at least run them off of the road, Hummer owners are narcissistic status-seekers who are basically saying to the rest of the world "I don't give a @#%$ about you, the environment or anything else. It is all about ME, ME, ME." I found this top 10 reasons not to buy a Hummer. However, Hummer owners will rabidly defend their right to drive one. Logic won't work on this crowd. No big surprise but I am not the only one who hates Hummers, there is a whole website devoted to them (FUH2).
Europeans definitely have us beat when it comes to energy consciousness and the use of fuel efficient vehicles. (Fuel costs here are roughly double the all-time high prices currently found in the US). It is not like American companies cannot build more efficient cars, in fact they do. They build and sell all kinds of fuel-efficient models for the European market. Is the current predicament the fault of the auto manufacturers for not producing energy efficient vehicles for the US market, is it the fault of the US consumers who have been buying SUVs in record numbers up until recently, or is it George Bush's (and cronies, Big Oil, auto industry lobbyists etc.) fault? It is of course very complex but I will break it down to a one word answer. Yes.