What a Hummer

Is the Hummer one car that should be banned? I know that capitalism is all about demand, and if there is a demand for something, and it's within the laws, then a person should be able to buy/do/have it.

But surely there should be some sort of respect for your fellow human being, and the environment in which we live in. A vehicle which gets only these strange protesters) should really have some restrictions on it. Since fuel tax in the US is so low, Hummer drivers don't pay much of a penalty for their profligacy.

At least in Europe it is nearly prohibitively expensive to drive one (although I have seen a few in Munich, where I live). But then again, just because you're rich, does that give you the right to pollute the environment even more than we already do?

Even though these vehicles are behemoths, surely it must be possible to improve the efficiency of these vehicles (including SUVs). It seems simply to me that Big Oil have the government in their back pockets, making sure that no new legislation goes through to make Americans think more before purchasing a wasteful car, or pressing Detroit car manufacturers into increasing its efforts in these areas (see the strides made in Europe and East Asia in this comparison of fuel efficiency).

Anyway, it reminder me of a quote from the Simpsons, as McBain (Rainier Wolfcastle, Arnold Schwarzenegger parody) pulls up to the Simpsons in his Hummer:

Marge: That car's as big as all outdoors.
Homer: Wow, what kind of mileage does it get?
Ranier: One highway, zero city.
Marge: (impressed) Ooooh.
Ranier: Mmm-hm.