"Far from serving as a figurative and literal vehicle for freedom and independence, cars exclude vast numbers of people from full enfranchisement in society -children, older people who have lost the ability to drive, people with disabilities that prevent them from driving, people who can't afford to buy or operate a car. Automobiles have produced far more collective damage to the world, in terms of death, illness, and environmental destruction, than nearly any other invention in human history."
"the image the US automobile industry spends billions on advertising every year (GM alone shelled out more than $3 billion on ads in 2022). You know, the ads that show drivers roaring through empty cities and racing along deserted coastal roads or through sensitive desert habitats in hulking SUVs and sleek sedans. The industry isn't just selling cars with those images. What they're really hawking is a fantasy veiled in chrome and steel, the fantasy of power and control and independence."
Cars have been marketed as portals to ease, comfort, and personal freedom while obscuring their extensive costs. Automobiles provide mobility and underpin the global economy, but they also exclude children, non-drivers, older adults, disabled people, and those who cannot afford vehicles. Cars produce outsized collective harms including death, illness, pollution, and environmental destruction. The auto and fossil fuel industries invest billions in advertising that projects power, control, and independence through idyllic driving images. That advertising masks the reality of social exclusion and ecological damage and perpetuates a fantasy that prioritizes private vehicle use over equitable transportation alternatives.
Read at Streetsblog
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