i feel i need to answer this as well...
for one thing, its called business. Another company offers a better product, customers buy it. I'm not going to buy something insanely shitty just because it was built in the US. The companies simply cannot compete with it, so they need to get their shit together and start making something just as good or better. Second, the US dollar does not directly effect the price of oil. It's OPEC who regulates oil prices. They are raising the prices, which makes it cost more world wide, not just here. Buying foreign goods does not make the price of oil go up that much. Its really the inverse, oil prices going up makes everything else go up as well
As for the prius, it might not be huge, but it is a step in the right direction so i support it. And most people don't even realize that it is truly intended to be driven in cities, or stop and go traffic. Not like a cross country road trip or anything