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Even in Europe, cars are very prevalent. It cannot simply be a conspiracy by American car companies to force people to want private transportation.

njarboe 3y ago
Go where you want (99.99% of places where there is a building there is road), when you want and carry with you 0 to 80,000lbs of stuff at a mile a minute. People who are into doing stuff and going places like that. Freedom, as they say.
- brailsafe 3y ago
  Total freedom 100% of the time, except when anyone needs to get to roughly the same place within a 2 hour window of anyone else going in approximately the same direction.
elzbardico 3y ago
The fact is that until somewhat recently cars were very inexpensive compared to the income of most Americans. Cars in Europe are a bit more expensive, and a lot more expensive in the third world. But in everywhere we always saw the same thing, as soon as people could buy a car, they would buy one. And once someone has a car, they would also tend to move further to bigger places. Most people outside HN bubble like cars and their convenience.
- 29083011397778 3y ago
  > Most people outside... like cars and their convenience Everyone loves [the first order effects of] cars. Climate control, directly to where you need to go, whenever suits you, for a high upfront, but low ongoing cost. Everyone fucking hates the second order effects (see: literally anybodys take on traffic). Climate change, more danger to everyone around them (from pedestrians to motorcyclists to other drivers), noise pollution, and air pollution from tires and exhaust. Everyone likes them, typically right up to when they aren't the driver [0] [0] Some gearheads break this rule, but I think nearly all of them would agree that requiring the average person to maintain and drive their car isn't great, considering the average driver's skillset.
  - brailsafe 3y ago
    Which ironically just generates more car use, because car drivers male 1-1 associations between people and cars and congestion, and then use their cars to get away from people. Somehow, not owning a car, I rarely feel like there's too many people around, perhaps unless it's peak tourist season; I just associate the miserable parts with cars alone rather than people in-general. In fact, it's almost always a positive contribution to my day-to-day life. But when I seldom borrow a car, I remember why they feel this way.

njarboe 3y ago

Go where you want (99.99% of places where there is a building there is road), when you want and carry with you 0 to 80,000lbs of stuff at a mile a minute. People who are into doing stuff and going places like that. Freedom, as they say.

brailsafe 3y ago
Total freedom 100% of the time, except when anyone needs to get to roughly the same place within a 2 hour window of anyone else going in approximately the same direction.

elzbardico 3y ago

The fact is that until somewhat recently cars were very inexpensive compared to the income of most Americans. Cars in Europe are a bit more expensive, and a lot more expensive in the third world. But in everywhere we always saw the same thing, as soon as people could buy a car, they would buy one. And once someone has a car, they would also tend to move further to bigger places. Most people outside HN bubble like cars and their convenience.

29083011397778 3y ago
> Most people outside... like cars and their convenience Everyone loves [the first order effects of] cars. Climate control, directly to where you need to go, whenever suits you, for a high upfront, but low ongoing cost. Everyone fucking hates the second order effects (see: literally anybodys take on traffic). Climate change, more danger to everyone around them (from pedestrians to motorcyclists to other drivers), noise pollution, and air pollution from tires and exhaust. Everyone likes them, typically right up to when they aren't the driver [0] [0] Some gearheads break this rule, but I think nearly all of them would agree that requiring the average person to maintain and drive their car isn't great, considering the average driver's skillset.
- brailsafe 3y ago
  Which ironically just generates more car use, because car drivers male 1-1 associations between people and cars and congestion, and then use their cars to get away from people. Somehow, not owning a car, I rarely feel like there's too many people around, perhaps unless it's peak tourist season; I just associate the miserable parts with cars alone rather than people in-general. In fact, it's almost always a positive contribution to my day-to-day life. But when I seldom borrow a car, I remember why they feel this way.