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To summarize my post, _urban_ residents would likely prefer not to have cars. Someone in an earlier thread also made a good point that I should have written “hi
by teucris 5y ago
To summarize my post, _urban_ residents would likely prefer not to have cars. Someone in an earlier thread also made a good point that I should have written “high density urban”.
Some people want cars. Some people like cars. But everyone is forced to have them in most places in the US due to the feedback loop caused by investing in car infrastructure and sprawl.
Beyond that, though, even if something is a necessity, it’s rarely a race to the bottom. Your insurance example is actually an excellent instance of how markets tend to divide up: there’s the economical market (eg save 15% or more!) and the premium market (eg you’re in good hands). Same with cars.
- pandaman 5y agoWell, I understood your post, but I have not seen any evidence for that. Is "high density urban" something that does not exist in the US? I've lived in several big metros and everywhere people seemed to love their cars. In case it's not clear, I am doubting your "most" qualifier, I am well aware some people don't like and don't want cars, I just think they are a tiny minority. Also I don't understand how the car market is as same as the mandatory insurance market. There is a race to the bottom on the, say, auto-insurance market while the vast majority of car promotions do not mention price at all, at most advertising preferable financial terms.
- teucris 5y agoThere are several studies that show that a significant portion of Americans hold a more conflicted view of driving than you believe here. A quick search gives me [0] which is cited by a ton of follow-up research. While I think this is a sociological issue and therefore difficult to pin down, I have a hard time seeing this research and thinking that “a tiny minority” of people want to do away with cars. Re: cars vs insurance, used cars are the economical choice, so new car commercials are targeting the premium demographics. 0: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965856404000941 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S09658...
- pandaman 5y agoCannot read the article but the abstract does not make any of your claims. From personal experience I've only seen people on the internet saying they don't want cars, if they had been any significant majority I am sure I've met one or two in real life over the years. Why car manufacturers don't advertise to the "necessary" buyers at all? A new Kia Rio is still cheaper than a used MB GLS.