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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.
I have grown to love cars more and more. They really can be a thing of beauty. It can also be about more than just transportation, it's about becoming one with a machine that responds to your commands. And while I hate the term "status symbol" you really can tell a lot about a person by their car. Practical and thrifty are the most common traits of people, but for better or worse people tend to think of their car as a stylistic expression of themselves, like their clothing. It's not an American thing, though.
But as much as I like my car, I'm also a fan of efficient mass transit. I wish it were feasible for me to just sit down with my coffee and read while riding to work instead of driving in traffic and fighting the lunatics (anyone going faster than me) and the idiots (anyone going slower than me). (reference to George Carlin)
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.
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.
That is Darwinism in action. Only the best drivers and pedestrians survive to breed more good drivers and pedestrians.
I'll admit, I don't love my car. Don't get me wrong. I think my car is awesome. It has a practical design, and carts my stuff. But give me the choice, I'd take transit. To save dealing with annoying parking, traffic, and dumb drivers, I'd rather be on transit. But if transit doesn't run at the times I need to be somewhere frequently enough, I'll hop in my car. I generally take transit when I can and it is feasible.
It is obvious the article was written by an author who is biased. But putting that aside you have to have some definition of what loving a car is. In the 50s and 60s cars were seen differently than they are now. Just using teenagers and men in their early 20s as an example, the love was all about muscle cars. Restoring and building a muscle car was cheap then. Now you are limited by emissions compliance and the cost of repainting a car, which costs half the price of a new car making it cost prohibitive for most of us. . Today it is about mobility. People love mobility. Where I'm living right now I could get by without a car, but that means no more day trips to the coast or the mountains, except for those few locations that have some form of transit nearby. But really, today people see cars as an appliance. For most people it does the specific job of getting them to work and back, and shopping. As long as they aren't giving them any problems and they have enough room so they can bring all the junk they bring with them everywhere, they really don't care.
KC6ZLV: Where you're living you could easily walk to a Zipcar or car rental office to rent cars for those day trips to the coast or mountains, and not have to worry about crackheads breaking the windows to steal your already-stolen stereo. I don't own a canoe, but if I want to take a canoe trip a couple times a year, renting one is cheaper and easier than buying a canoe and having to transport it and store it on the 360 or so days of the year I'm not using it. Mobility can be accomplished in many ways.
wburg: I'm familiar with zipcar. I have a neighbour who has used it. If you don't make trips frequently it can save you quite a bit of money. For someone like myself, not so much. I spend quite a bit of my free time going places.
If you're a worry-wart, like myself, car ownership is nothing but stress. I worry constantly some engine problem is going to develop, at the wrong time, wrong place, or a time when there's no room in my budget for even a $200 repair bill.
My car-less retirement days are shortly ahead of me. Get an itch to get behind the wheel of a car for a 2-3 days, call Enterprise, they pick you up at your home, and drop you off afterwards. No stress!
Did that for a number of years in Minneapolis. Bus/rental car life. I miss it!
I don't stress over worrying about the car. I've had few problems, but then I do my own maintenance and probably maintain them better than most people.
My irritation is with things like the cost of insurance. Somehow I never got that discount for getting older. When I got my license it was supposed to be at 26, then the insurance industry kept moving the age up, then they got sued for discriminating against men, and now you don't get a discount unless you get married. And now I'm still waiting for the higher rates for living Downtown to go away.
I've had problems with breakins where I'm at. That is because I have to park on the street and I'm surrounded by Section 8 housing.
wburg: I'm familiar with zipcar. I have a neighbour who has used it. If you don't make trips frequently it can save you quite a bit of money. For someone like myself, not so much. I spend quite a bit of my free time going places.
I second these comments! If I had a train available that went from where I live to where I work I'd certainly use it for my commuting, but I would never get rid of my car. I love the freedom of hopping in the car and going wherever I want whenever I want- every week, to the coast, the mountains, to other rural areas around the city for photography. Renting a zip car every time I wanted to do that would exceed my montly car expenses!
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