I realize that the picture does me no favors but I've always cultivated a "What, me worry?" attitude.
I won't try and rationalize American "need" for size and power in our vehicles. The diesel Ram pickup you mentioned was more than likely used by that Texan for lugging multi-horse trailers and for bragging rights. They don't call them "Cowboy Cadillacs" for nothing. That Cummings diesel is at least a $6k option. Buying it with a manual was an, uh, "interesting" choice.
Our cars have always been large and the distances here are vast. That, however, doesn't excuse all the soccer moms driving around in 40 different models of SUV's, usually by themselves. We do, however, tend to spend an inordinate amount of time in our cars, making them a "home" away from home. Thus the cup holders, room, satellite radio, etc.
When Europe sent over the original Mini's, the Renault Dauphines, etc back in the late 50's early 60's, they were accompanied by underfunded dealers, few parts, and cars that were NOT designed to run at 70 mph for hours at a time AND left a sad trail of oil and pistons in their wake. Fiat lasted here longer than most but it's reputation was wrecked by the time it left. What we learned from this debacle was that big, under-stressed drivetrains, tooling around at 2k rpms sucking down cheap gas beat the heck out of a dauphine in the slow lane at 60 mph, shedding parts as it trundled along. Not that the dauphine was a dog (it was), but it was not designed for the USA. That was the status quo for many a year.
Other than the original Beetle, small foreign cars were shunned. The Japanese won us back over the decades but European cars are still considered "warranty" cars: i.e. sell it before the warranty is out because it's going to cost you a bundle for repairs. MINI has managed to grow and thrive in this culture even though they rate LAST of all cars sold here in reliability (even behind the Range Rover). How they did that has probably been the title of many a Master's thesis.
We are slowly changing to smaller versions of our trucks & cars but a Fiat 500 is, let's face it, an oddity here. Once you've seen one next to a standard F-150 pickup, you have to be a brave soul to drive a 500 (physics is a bit*h).
That is also the reason they are being sold in "studios" near metropolitan areas as strictly city cars & fashion accessories. If you tell the average American that that 500 is a family car in Europe, they'd look at you like you've slipped a cog. People such as myself, who have lived overseas and understand that they not only have a place but are actually fun, are in a very distinct minority.
As Chief Dan George said in "The Outlaw Jose Wales", we shall 'Endeavor to Persevere".
Cheers