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Sorry, you come in here and insult people who like cars, and you want to be taken seriously? Get the hell out. NOW. There's a section for bicyclists. Use it.
Sleep it off before next post, OK ?
Thanks for making my point, though
I lived in Seattle and loved having a car there, plus the ability to get around with not having one. Though Seattle does have decent mass trans, it is not that great, plus there are tons of things to do that require a car (at least for my interests).
Another thing I found is many without cars still tend to rely on others who do have cars, like the weekly tag along to the grocery store, the trip to the Olympic mountains to go on the logging roads, the trips to Vancouver and Victoria, and trips to about every other place it seems except to a place to eat, work, and the bars.
I walk to work, I utilize mass transit often as well down here in Miami, however, there is a limit to the mass transit in terms of time and convenience. That time and convenience is well worth the money i pay for my car, it is my money, and I choose how to spend it.
Even in countries with outstanding mass transit systems, people still own a car; if bicycles and mass transit were so great, we would not see the up and coming economies switch from bicycles (China) and mass transit (Russia) to cars. Fact is, once people were able to own one, they found how nice it is to own one.
From this post, seems you are against ownership, which leads me to ask why do you car what someone does with their money? How does it concern you if someone wants to spend all of their money on one or fifty cars? They are the ones who went to work and received the salary, not you, so I do not know why you feel the need to tell someone how to spend their own money.
I live in a car-centric city and own a sports/hobby car that I put less than 100 miles on over the last two months.
I own a carbon-fiber framed road bike that I typically ride 500-1000 miles per month.
I do not believe that either is any more or less inherently superior to the other. They are totally different machines, both of which I enjoy operating.
Do I think that I am any inherently better because I ride a bike? No.
Do I think that I am any inherently better because I drive a car? No.
Some nights, I feel like putting the top down, throwing on my Osram Silverstars and hitting the canyons with some metal playing. Some nights, I need to get out to the San Gabriel Valley or Santa Clarita to, uh, pay a visit to an attractive young woman, and I don't feel like taking two and a half hours to get there, and getting there covered in sweat and smelling like man-stank.
Other nights (like tonight), I throw on my backpack, jump on my bike, and ride all the way to the other side of the city to get mundane dinner ingredients and/or beer I could have gotten a block and a half away... may as well burn 1200 calories before I take them back in.
It's a way of life that makes sense to me and makes me happy. I don't feel that I need to justify either hobby to anyone, and that anyone who's overwhelmingly concerned about it needs to get a life and focus on something more meaningful than arbitrarily picking fights with people they believe are less than them on an internet forum.
It's a way of life that makes sense to me and makes me happy. I don't feel that I need to justify either hobby to anyone, and that anyone who's overwhelmingly concerned about it needs to get a life and focus on something more meaningful than arbitrarily picking fights with people they believe are less than them on an internet forum.
I like anything with wheels: Cars, bikes, motobikes,.... I feel the same way.
Yet it's always the bikers who come to the Automotive forum to post their anti-car opinion.
Wow, I'm not even a car enthusiast, but really? Shall I post in the bike forum about how much bikes suck and are for losers that can't afford cars? Perhaps I should post in the Christianity forum about how only stupid people believe in god (I don't believe either of those things, btw).
The fact is that it's not always feasible to go carless.
I am from an area like this, you pretty much have to have a car to go anywhere, unless you live on a college campus or in the city of Ann Arbor. Then you might have a chance. But if you want to go much beyond that area, you're SOL without a car.
I currently live in an area with better buses and trains, but even then, you're extremely limited with your public transit options. Sure the weather is nice enough that you can bike most of the time. But it would take me all day to bike to work, and it would also take me all day to take transit to work.
And if you want to go from OC to LA on a weekend..forget it. The trains from LA back to OC stop running at like, 4pm on a Saturday. How is that useful?? Might as well drive or take a 3 hour bus ride (one way). Or bike all day long, I guess.
Or what if you live in a rural area? My cousin lives in rural Texas. I guess if he never wants to leave his county, he doesn't need a car...
I am all for biking and increased public transportation, but it's shortsighted to say it's possible to live anywhere in the US without a car. In some cases, sure. If I lived in NYC, or San Francisco, I probably wouldn't bother with a car. Then again, there are parks and such outside of SF that are a few hours away that I couldn't reach without a car...and for those who suggest renting...what difference does it then make if you rent or own a car? Either way, you are using a car, but in one instance, you outright own it.
Nothing is wrong with car ownership...again I am not a car enthusiast...but there is no need to look down on people for their hobbies/wants if it doesn't hurt you. Me owning a car doesn't hurt anyone and it's the best way for me to get to work.
From this post, seems you are against ownership, which leads me to ask why do you car what someone does with their money? How does it concern you if someone wants to spend all of their money on one or fifty cars? They are the ones who went to work and received the salary, not you, so I do not know why you feel the need to tell someone how to spend their own money.
I'm not for or against anything! How the heck did you glean any intent from my post? I was just pointing out a glaring deficiency in the previous post, whereby those who don't own a car in seattle can rent one and still access all of the points that were referenced.
Please explain where I told someone how to spend their own money. If I am arguing against car ownership, then I'm a hypocrite becasue I own two. It is possible to point out the feasiblity of something without "preaching" one way or the other.
There are a number of places in the US (obviously nowhere you've been) where the above scenerio (renting cars by the hour for small trips or weekend for longer ones) is common. Merely acknowledging their existence is not a crime.
I drive a 4.1 liter V6 station wagon with a 215hp engine... if there are a few greenies that have a problem with it , I really couldn't give a baboon's behind. My car gets me to and from work, public transport would be impractical as there are no bus or train routes from my place to work and a bicycle would add a good 4 hours onto the commute which would otherwise be leisure time enjoyed at home with family or an outing and what not
Gramps- People who WANT TO live an "alternative lifestyle" without cars WILL DO SO, and those who ENJOY having cars do not care to read such articles. .
This reasoning is not only very, very selfish but it is also very foolish in that closed minds learn nothing new so they are subject to rot.
I really don't care what you read ,or why you read it since that is your cross to bear, what is important here is that you have no right , in any form, to censor what any other member says as long it is polite and follow the TOS.
In case you missed it I said not one word about bicycles. If it was said the author of the story said it. If you don't want to read this story ,then don't,since no one is holding your feet to the fire to read or comment about anything here.
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