He probably is. Or travels a lot for legit reasons.
For real tho, 20k per year is almost twice the average salary in my country and gas is also cheaper in the US.
Why do Americans have to drive big gas guzzling cars tho? Here in Europe most choose a diesel hatchback for the car, unless they have to carry stuff.
These diesels do almost 60 mpg on the highway and would be perfect for Americans who commute by car a lot. Some do even more, like the 3rd gen Daihatsu Charade turbo diesel. This can get up to 70 mpg if you're lucky.
The Geo Metro was hailed as a super fuel efficient car, and yet a VW Golf mk3 TDI with more space had similar mileage and was a better car all around.