Yeah, no shit. I live in a city and since I’ve stopped using a car to get around, I feel so much better. Decent public transit and bike share + bike lanes are way better than having to drive everywhere, dealing with traffic, parking, etc. I only use my roommate’s car now for groceries every week or two, but I can also just bike if weather permits (carrying groceries and biking is surprisingly intense cardio).
I mean, that’s one of the many reasons.
The US public transportation infrastructure was outstanding until the early 1960’s. It went to shit thanks to the lobbyists from the oil, automobile and tire industries.
I’ve worked from home for a long time, but before that I used to get my workout by riding my bike to the office.
20 minutes is just enough to wake you up for the day, rain, shine or snow.
I work from home so I don’t drive much and when I do I have a fun car to drive, so I don’t mind it. The worst part about it is that there’s clearly many people on the road who’d rather be somewhere else. Either they’re terrified or distracted, often dangerously so.
Giving those people better options and getting them out of my way is one reason, despite not liking cities or mass transit, I support urbanists and trainbros.
As a massive gear head, this is always my argument. If we have better public transit infrastructure, people who don’t want to drive won’t, making the experience better for those of us that do.
My wife and I both miss the convenience of Tokyo and walking or taking trains everywhere, but we don’t miss how tiny and packed things were. Now, we basically have to drive everywhere in our rural area. When the weather is nice, we can cycle, but it still takes quite a bit of time
I could ride a horse, but my truck gets me where I want to go much faster, and I can haul 12000lbs of trailer with it or put 2000lbs of stuff in the bed. Really doesn’t get more satisfying than that, short of having a personal helicopter.
Our species has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, give or take a bit. Looking back from the year 2100 and possibly a few decades earlier, it will be noted that for just a few generations – for an almost vanishingly brief fraction of our species’ lifespan – it was temporarily normal and unremarkable for one person to be able to haul thousands of pounds of stuff around whenever they pleased. And then we will be right back where we started, able to carry what we can carry on our backs and sometimes make use of a draft animal, and if we’re lucky a cart or a boat.
My personal vehicle gets the equivalent of 120mpg, is fueled at home while I sleep, and can get me to the train station in like 5 minutes. When I have to go places not on a train, it fits my family of four comfortably and carries everything I’ve tried to put in it. It also is very convenient for road trips to places not on Acela
Sold my stupid 95 f150 the moment I didn’t need it to do house repairs. It hauled almost nothing and the 5.0 turned fuel into noise and not much else. Our old 3/4 ton suburban isn’t much better, but it keeps my dogs in a conditioned space and hauls the same or more than you want. I only drive it when needed and it disgusts me how much smaller it is than a modern half ton. Fuck current vehicles and their useless size.
But realistically, how often do you do that? I wanted a truck, then I realized it’s maybe once every 5 years I might need it, and so I got a sedan that fits in parking spots and can travel 800 miles on 16 gallons of gas instead. If I need stuff, I can either get things delivered/hauled or rent a truck if I really need one. Obv, YMMV.
Every day it’s doing something, be it going 60+mph down a dirt/gravel road to get to town, driving to a jobsite 5 days a week, driving through a foot of unplowed snow in the winter, hauling a trailer to transport wood, palletized items, or other vehicles/large itrems, pulling out semis that get stuck in the mud/snow/ice, driving down two-tracks to the local fishing/hunting/recreation spot, hauling a 30ft camper around for vacations, going grocery shopping, etc.
The real question is why the hell would I buy something that couldn’t do all these things.
