In the drive to discover new fuels and cheaper alternatives to driving the fact of the matter is that roads will still have to be maintained, and if the consumer is purchasing less fuel by driving fuel efficient cars, then other taxes will have to be raised or implemented to pay for the roads.
A recent study concluded that "more efficient cars and trucks still take up space on the highways and wear them out. Growth will require more highway capacity. Since we finance transportation primarily through dedicated taxes, these need to be ample enough to support these needs" (Petersen, 2007, p. 66). The taxes seen in America are not as high as the ones imposed on the European consumer.
One study showed that "European fuel costs are double those in the U.S. " (Winter, 2007, p. 5). The higher fuel costs there provides the European consumer with incentives not necessarily found in the U.S. The same study concluded that "consumers used to paying $6-$7 per gallon are extremely motivated to buy smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles" (Winter, p. 5). Consumer behavior is thereby often influenced by taxes and price controls on various products including the everyday use of gasoline and fuel. Governments benefit from the taxes levied, roads are built and maintained by the taxes,...
At the same time consumer behavior can be influenced as evidenced by the lack of consumer demand for pickup trucks with big engines in Europe as compared to the United States. "Unlike North America, there is zero demand for full-size pickups in Europe" (Winter, p. 5).
Perhaps what is needed in the United States is the same type of taxes that are levied in Europe, the citizens of the United States would then be forced to buy more fuel-efficient vehicles. More fuel-efficient vehicles would lead to less fuel consumption and less fuel consumption would lead to lower fuel expenditures by the average consumer. Of course, it really would not matter because the government(s) would then raise taxes elsewhere in order to compensate for the loss of revenue, so either way the U.S. citizen is stuck paying the fuel bill.
References
Hassett, K.A.; Metcalf, G.E.; (2008) the why's and how's of energy taxes, Issues in Science and Technology, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 45-50
Petersen, J.E.; Fueling a Tax, Governing, Vol. 20, No. 6, p. 66
Winter, D.; (2007) the big lie, Ward's Auto World, Vol. 43, No. 7, p. 5
