In most countries across the world (at least up until an upsurge in interest in protecting the environment over the past couple of decades or so), car buyers have traditionally seen 'more power' as being 'better'. So, for example, someone who could afford it would tend to buy a 2 litre car in preference to an 1100cc model, with the choice being based both upon the actual performance of the larger engine and the 'prestige' factor of owning a more powerful car.
However in many countries around the world, drivers have been deterred from buying cars with powerful engines because of the high costs they'd then have to pay to keep filling up their fuel tanks. That's particularly been true in countries where petrol and diesel have been highly taxed, such as the UK. (Every time you fill a car's fuel tank with petrol in the UK, 62% of what you pay goes to the government).
The USA is one of the few countries in the world where petrol/gasoline has never been heavily taxed. (The current average price of a litre of petrol in the UK is £1.26. The current average price in the USA is the equivalent of 56p). So the higher costs of running cars with larger engines haven't deterred Americans anywhere near as much as they have Brits (and most others too).