> I hope something similar takes the place cars have had in American culture. I have a feeling this has already happened: as you have mentioned, the car origin

> I hope something similar takes the place cars have had in American culture. I have a feeling this has already happened: as you have mentioned, the car originally promised the freedom to "see the world", get in contact with others and was/is also a status symbol. One thing that - arguably - promises all of that and is in my experience one of the most important status symbol for people below 25 is the smartphone. It also transcends race, religion and social status and also seems to address the desire to be "someone else", just like the car. The difference is that with a car, you get a new identity made out of metal, while with a smartphone, you can create all sorts of fake online identities.