But with even George Bush now admitting that his countrymen are "addicted to oil", who will laugh last - the drivers of the Yankee gas-guzzlers or those who opt for that petrol-sipping pipsqueak the Matiz?
The Matiz is still growing into its Chevrolet moniker, the new-ish branding for what was the Daewoo Matiz.
The tiddler was the only Daewoo to win even the remotest affection, let alone credibility among British motorists. It is an honest little car - cute but unpretentious.
I began my week's acquaintance with it without much relish, finding the pedal box strangely arranged, the radio fiddly and impossible to programme and the centrally-placed speedo binnacle a little disconcerting.
But by the time I handed the nipper back, I was forced to admit some uncomfortable truths about modern motoring.
Urban
The first is that if you spend the vast majority of your motoring life on a short urban commute, you really don't need much more car than the Matiz. And the second, bearing in mind that the average annual cost of running a car now stands at over £5,000, is that it is possible to do it for a heck of a lot less.
The Matiz is a bargain basement buy, it will cost just £105 a year to tax, no higher than group 4 to insure and will offer three years' fixed cost motoring from new, as it comes with three years' free servicing, warranty and AA recovery.
It's more like buying a fridge-freezer with an extended warranty than a car.
The biggest relief to your wallet comes at the petrol pump, with fuel consumption even on the urban run only a shade below 40mpg, and creeping up as high as 60mpg on the open road.
I had sincerely believed that the petrol gauge on my Matiz was faulty because it stayed hard up against the full end of the scale almost until the end of the week.
All that said, I was rather spoiled by having the top-of-the-range 1.0SX, which at £7,695 is £1,600 more expensive than the base model 0.8S with its three-cylinder power plant.
Tiny though the Matiz is, it does not feel cramped inside, even for someone like me, whose 36-in inside leg has caused me contortions in cars much bigger than this.
Interior
Inevitably, there is a plasticky feel to much of the interior, and the funky trim is clearly intended to appeal more to women than men, but it all seems nailed together reasonably well.
There is a certain flimsiness to the mechanism of the tip-forward squabs of the split rear seats, for instance, but it all works smoothly enough. On the go, the Matiz has a beautifully light clutch and a glitch-free gearbox.
The 64-bhp engine keeps up with the urban traffic flow without any drama at all, but the open road may demand that you wring its neck somewhat, and the tiddler shows an inevitable gutlessness on any long incline during motorway driving.
Chevrolet admit that handling had been an issue for some Matiz owners, and have addressed that with rear axle tweaks to this latest incarnation. It certainly goes where you point it now, and, furthermore, ride quality is pretty decent.
The killer question... could I own a Matiz? Despite its wallet-pleasing characteristics, the answer must be no.
For poverty motoring, I'd probably opt instead for the more stylish Fiat Panda. But I do own a Daewoo.It's a fridge-freezer.
What do you think? Have your say
