Added fuel expense (due to drag) turns out to but one of who-knows-how-many hazards incurred by flag-flying, auto-owning fans of England’s World Cup team. Here is another, reported by the BBC on June 21, 2006:
Monkey gangs steal England flags
A safari park in Merseyside is urging patriotic football fans to remove England flags from their vehicles to stop gangs of baboons pinching them. Bosses at Knowsley Safari Park say the 120-strong troop of baboons usually swipe windscreen wipers but have turned to stealing World Cup flags instead.
(Thanks to investigator Adiyasa Dwitama for bringing this to our attention.)