This association between personal car ownership and personal freedom is one of the most absurd things to me. Think of this the next time you're sitting in traffic - is that freedom you are feeling now?
Of course, this situation of waiting for other people in cars to move (by far the most common situation by quantity of time for people who drive in cities) is not found at all in any car ad. Nope, it's all empty city streets and beautiful roads in the forests. It's one thing to be sold something and realize you've been had - quite another to persevere for years afterward that no, the beautiful experience you were sold really exists!
Owning a car gives me the freedom to do a ton of things I simply wouldn't be able to do if I relied on public transportation / ubers / rental cars:
- Last minute or long term road trips.
- Get my 3 kids to 3 different activities in different parts of the city after school.
- Pick up cheap furniture from Craigslist/ FB Marketplace as soon as it's posted.
- Camping
- Coach youth sports and transport all the necessary gear to practices/games/tournaments.
I vote pro public transportation every time and use it for day to day work commuting. But it's really not hard to imagine ways that personal car ownership equals freedom for a lot of people.
>"Think of this the next time you're sitting in traffic - is that freedom you are feeling now?"
Not all trips taken in a car experience traffic, and not all commutes experience heavy traffic. When people talk about the sense of freedom afforded by owning a car, they are talking about spontaneity and not needing to deal with strangers in a crowded space.
This association between personal car ownership and personal freedom is one of the most absurd things to me. Think of this the next time you're sitting in traffic - is that freedom you are feeling now?
Of course, this situation of waiting for other people in cars to move (by far the most common situation by quantity of time for people who drive in cities) is not found at all in any car ad. Nope, it's all empty city streets and beautiful roads in the forests. It's one thing to be sold something and realize you've been had - quite another to persevere for years afterward that no, the beautiful experience you were sold really exists!