Each mode of transport is just optimised to a different metric. Nobody ever claimed cars were the most space efficient mode of transport, so this argument is ve

Each mode of transport is just optimised to a different metric. Nobody ever claimed cars were the most space efficient mode of transport, so this argument is very much a strawman. They are however much faster, easier and have longer range than bikes and walking, and have more spatial and temporal freedom than public transport. This is why they are so popular.