If 99% of Bitcoin users/hash power switched over to a different set of rules, the 1% wouldn't matter, the 99% would ignore them. They could whinge and cry all they wanted.

I'm not sure the analogy even works, but in the case of driving, if 99% decided to switch how the roads were to be used, I assure you that literal resistance would not be tolerated. There might be some incidents, but there wouldn't be very many before the 1% were the ones getting pushed around.