Points very well taken. There is a cost associated with every move. Would you argue that drivers are living in a false economy? Gasoline has not historically risen in cost proportionately to overall cost of living increases since 1920. While it is true that fuel is an ecomony of scale, the net effect on the driver's pocketbook is the same. Couple cheap gasoline with the low amount of maintenance that is required on newer vehicles and cost per mile is the lowest it has ever been on a real(not nominal) dollar basis. A final note is the inelastic cost of ownership in purchase price. No matter how many miles a person drives, their car payment remains the same.
The solution? Use federal gasoline tax increases to provide subsities for alternate and high efficiency vehicles and fund mass-transit infrastructure improvements. In areas where traffic is a significant problem the mass-transit must be significantly faster than traffic - not city busses - high speed trains and subways. In London it is the only way to get around town because a car takes many times longer and parking is cost prohibitive.