To add to this a bit, heres an example of cost of fuel for people back when the SUV craze was going on. Lets take a Hummer H2 that didn't even have to publish the fuel efficiency numbers. And with that vehicle, lets take a drive across the UK, from East May, to Dover. Google shows 764 miles, and various reviews seem to average the H2's highway rate at 10mpg (23 L/100k). Fuel in 2003 when the H2 came out averaged $1.51 a gallon. So, a trip across the UK would have only cost $115. It took gas rising to nearly $4 to get people here to really think about fuel economy.