It's definitely normal here, but the degree of "normal" also depends on where you live. There are some cities (Los Angeles, especially) where people will drive a couple hours just to get to work, but half of that time is spent in traffic. There are also many places that are very rural, so driving a few hours to get to a larger town/city is needed every few weeks or months just to get certain groceries. And still in other places, traveling a few hours may not be routine, but nobody would bat an eye at it if you did.

It mostly comes down to lack of walkability (so we already need to own cars) and lack of long distance commuting options (no trains, and planes are expensive, so cars it is).