"Americans Love Their Cars" And Other Transportation Myths (landscape, equal)

[wburg]

This article from Streetsblog, with links to other articles, highlights five of the biggest myths about the automobile and Americans' supposed attachment to it. It seems like the "love affair" with the automobile was more embraced by previous generations, and for many of us, the relationship isn't nearly as healthy, or as passionate, as it was for our parents' generation:

Streetsblog Capitol Hill » Five Media Myths That Perpetuate Car Culture

Another day, another news story, another media outlet wielding an old saw like this one: high gas prices are a political problem for the president because Americans “love their cars.” American car culture, fed by everything from our sprawled out landscape to a daily bombardment of car ads, is kept alive by journalists’ use of a set of hackneyed narratives. Beyond clichés, these story lines represent a collection of myths that shore up an unhealthy, unequal, and ultimately unsustainable car system.

The first of the five myths I found very revealing indeed:

Americans love their cars. A Google search for this statement returns 2.8 times as many hits as “Americans love their pets” and 6.3 times as many as “Americans love their guns”. Yes, there will always be automotive enthusiasts and drivers fond of their cars. But our car culture is both shifting and conflicted: The last time they were surveyed by Pew, Americans saying they saw their cars as “something special”, more than just a means of transportation, had dropped from 43 to 23 percent. Americans may need their cars in our transit-starved and poorly planned landscape, but with mind-numbing traffic and volatile gas prices, the luster is off the chrome.

Personally I hold the opposite sentiment implied by the Google-search statements reflected above, and think that pets and the Second Amendment are a higher priority than driving (Firearms ownership is Constitutionally protected--driving is not.) It reminded me of an old pro-gun bumper sticker, that I suppose I would update to read: "My car, sure. My cat, maybe. My gun--NEVER!!"

[Chango]

I love cars. Sorry, but I just do. You'll have pry my steering wheel from my cold, dead hands.

[Ohiogirl81]

Whatever. I love cars. I love driving (just not in Philadelphia). Some of my favorite songs are about cars. Beep Beep.

Cars are primarily a mode of transportation, and I'm not going to spend a ton of money on a fancy one, but they are pretty danged cool.

And I'd rather have a car than a gun. Cars are much more useful ... and you can kill someone with a car if you absolutely have to.

[wburg]

That's fine if you love them--as long as you're willing to support them in the manner to which they have become accustomed. And keep in mind that 40,000 Americans a year get pried cold and dead from their automobile--plus another 4000 or so from their bumpers.

[stan4]

I have loved cars since I was a little kid and I have never stopped...there is something very innate and visceral about my love, and I didn't even grow up in this country.

[kidphilly]

Well I live in area great for walkability and horrid for driving. I own a car because of two primary factors:

1st I need it; cant do my job without it.
2nd I do really appreciate the independence and freedom it affords

But I will also say I chose where i reside because of all the amenities of the urban lifestyle and with that comes the BURDEN of car ownership. I never drive when I am home, only when I leave the area but the two benefits outweigh the burden for me given my desired place of residence.

Do I love my car, no, but I am big fan of the aspects it does provide

[pvande55]

Another myth is that people like me always drive. If public transport is available to me I won't use it because only (criminals, the poor, drunks, etc) ride it.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by wburg

as long as you're willing to support them in the manner to which they have become accustomed.

You can support my cars and I'll support your trains, trolleys and buses.

The buses which ride on those very same subsidized roads you're always harping about as my car.

[wburg]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

You can support my cars and I'll support your trains, trolleys and buses.

The buses which ride on those very same subsidized roads you're always harping about as my car.

Fair enough--let's split the cost 50/50! Drivers will actually see more benefit, since everyone riding transit, walking or biking is not crowded onto the road with you, but considering that public subsidy and city planning has been overwhelmingly been in the direction of roads and automobiles, it would still be an enormous improvement for public transit. That means drivers (including me--I drive a car sometimes) will pay more, but all will see a great benefit.

[Eastern Roamer]

Originally Posted by wburg

It reminded me of an old pro-gun bumper sticker, that I suppose I would update to read: "My car, sure. My cat, maybe. My gun--NEVER!!"

Off topic: I saw a bumper sticker that said "Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my gun has."