Because driving is a lot of fun. As someone who is 29 years old, I got my first car when I was 25, so yes I cared a lot less about cars then the ideal American 16 year old looking forward to his first ride. When I did get my car though, I realized how much I had been missing out on.
Driving is fun. It is enjoyable, a great reliever of stress. Driving and programming are my two biggest joys in life.
I completly agree with that and it still means freedom to me. Just leaving and going to place where I can't/don't want to go by bus/train/etc.. Take my bike and tent with me propably or just cruise. Leave in the middle of the night, take somebody with me with the person not having to care about transportation money. Making a break where I want to and so on.
I found the articles way of comparing all this and to IPhones very sad. There is some fantasy involved in using a car. It seems that this has been lost also not only to authors but to those kids he's describing.
Living in Australia, as I do most of the time - you would be hard-pushed to 'get by' without a car. The distances to even basic facilities are too large, the population is too-widely distributed for public transport to be a realistic option. Registration / insurance is expensive, yes, and petrol too - but for less than 2kAUD (about the same American) you can get a good-enough car (safe, reliable, if not cosmetically wonderful), and the rewards in terms of freedom are more than worth it.
I am an older guy (41), but my younger friends in their 20s don't show any signs of wanting to forgo car ownership.
For me, car is an unavoidable evil. With a young family and not living in a metropolis, not having a car make life about 10x more difficult. The practicality of dropping the kids off to school, doing the daily groceries, numerous appointments for medical, local governmental, social events etc. And this is living in Germany where you would think its density would be high enough to not own a car.
When I lived in Australia, it is almost impossible to live without a car if you live in the suburbs. Most of them don't even have public transport service.
Interesting to see that this also plays in the USA. Largest opinion magazine in the Netherlands had a big article about how today it's a status symbol not to have a car, because for young people it's associated with living on the countryside where it's impossible to get around without one; and living on the countryside means general lower education, lower pay, for people in their 20s/30s. Not surprisingly: the car as a status symbol still exists there. Wondering if this also goes for the USA...
I would think so, but out in the boonies where I live most people cannot afford to make their car into a status symbol. Here in NM, the car-as-status-symbol means something rather different than in the rest of the country. Here, an old luxury car with new paint and possibly a portrait of the Virgin Mary is pretty rich fare. A lot of cars have large decals in the back window that read like tombstones: "In Memory of Consuelo Gonzales, 1969-2007". One guy in town has a glossy black 70s-vintage Buick with bright gold hubcaps. Another guy has an all-gold Cadillac, and it really looks like gold, not gold paint.
I imagine these cars convey a lot more than just status, and I'd be surprised if they were expensive. Out in the boonies where I live, not many people can afford a rich import that the local mechanic can't work on. Even in the big metro area to the north, the fanciest you get is the odd BMW, the occasional Porsche. Until visiting Chicago I hadn't seen an Aston Martin in the flesh, for instance.
If I need to go do something, like work, anywhere in the city or near it I can be there with less than a day's notice.
If I need something for work or home I can pick it up when I discover I need it instead of having to wait.
If I want to go to an event anywhere within a hundred miles I can do so without having to make special arrangements.
If I want to make a day trip to visit my friends in Canada or Portland I can.
If I want to hang out at a friend's place until ungodly hours or on the weekend I don't have to worry about massively diminished transit options.
And so on.
Normally I try to avoid commuting by car when I have the opportunity but living without a car entirely, which I did up until I was about 30, entails an enormous number of compromises and limitations. If you live a life of utter routine then fine, don't own a car, but don't tell me that there isn't an enormous amount of value in a car.
Sure I could save money in parking, gas, and maintenance by not owning a car. I could save even more money by not renting an apartment either, or by not paying for internet.
Sure as hell wouldn't want to have a car. I'm living out of town so I have to take the bus before I get to a subway. Still don't want a car.
Sure, it would be "a good thing" to have one. More practical I guess.
I still don't have one and wouldn't want one. The costs are simply too big. A cheap car ends up expensive. An expensive car... ends up expensive. Gas is expensive.
I also grew up being told "driving is bad, mmmkay? think about the birds and the trees!"
So in the end, yes. A car would get me to work 30-45 minutes faster. But am I really in THAT much of a hurry to get to work? Not really. I would rather read twice as much in the bus, or spend some time on my laptop or smartphone and get some work done.
My wife and I moved from Australia to Phoenix, AZ, USA. After living here for about 18 months we've finally had to buy a car due to the fact that she's pregnant.
We had managed very well with out a car; my wife cycled to work and I rode the light rail to my work place. My commute took about 2 hours a day, compared to ~50 mins if I drove. This didn't bug me very much at all, I enjoy listening to audiobooks / podcasts and catching a little nap while on the train.
We were also very lucky that my wife's boss would lend us his car when he was out of town, in return for being dropped off and picked up from the airport. This enabled us to do some road trips out to the grand canyon, monument valley, sedona, etc. I was also very lucky to have a fellow skydiver living in the same apartment complex who would give me a ride to the dropzone an hour away to pursue my hobby of falling from the sky.
For 18 months we really enjoyed the response from our American friends when we explained that we didn't have a car. The look of disbelief was very entertaining.
Speaking from a UK perspective I would lay much of the blame at the Governments door, both regional and national. Since the 1990's government has realised what an easy target the motorist is for revenue generating.
Petrol is frighteningly expensive in the UK, even a regular family car costs around £100 to fill up, the cost of fuel has double in the past 10 years.
Vehicle taxation has changed and increased considerably for larger vehicles. Operating a car through a company now has little tax benefit.
Parking in the UK is expensive, and easy to get an exorbitant fine should you overstay by even the slightest time period.
Speeding is punished with large fixed penalty fines and tolls upon some roads and bridges continue to be levied at year on year increasing costs.
Unfortunately outside of London are public transport networks are poor and offer no alternative to running a car, which is why most of us continue to pay more each year to own a car.
27 years old, I told myself long ago that the first car I would buy would be a newer Passat-style car that I'd be able to buy without taking a loan. Long away from that but living in Germany and in the center of town I don't really need one anyway :)
And when, like right now I really must have a car I do as I did for this week and borrowed my parent's :)
I love not having a car, the money you save is insane (especially with our gas prices over here).
Living in a country with less population than in New York pretty much means you can own a car and won't have to worry about traffic jams and stuff. And in less populated parts of the country you need a car in order to get around to begin with.
Plus some of us enjoy driving as pointed out in a few other comments too
Having a car is useful during crucial times like for weekend trips, grocery shopping or just go out with friends. Renting or using some car sharing app everytime is a hassle.
Driving is fun. It is enjoyable, a great reliever of stress. Driving and programming are my two biggest joys in life.