2) All well and good, but if a truck can't do the job it is as useful as a teat on a boar. That means you need a bigger truck, and that means more fuel used. Fuel prices are killing the SUV now. Look for people to purchase more economical vehicles in their next purchase cycle, and some have already traded in the SUV on something more economical.
3)Pretty regressive tax, imo. The people who can least afford the newest technology will be hardest hit--and their income taxes won't be reduced much, if at all (because they make too little). People who don;t make a lot still have to get to work, and many do not live where there is public transportation (think small-town America).
4)Let the market do that. If there is a profit to be made,it will be.
5)Already happening. MTBE is on the way out because the liability waivers were not renewed. It is a hot potato.
6) I agree fully, at least reduce the number of boutique blends.
Consumption taxes are regressive, but perhaps there is a way to mitigate that.
Frannkly, I am in favor of repealing income taxes and enact the FAIRTAX.