Why Americans, particularly millennials, have fallen out of love with cars

[Kurt in CT]

Nobody ever wants to hear this but the absolute worst thing you can do for the environment is have children. A man living to age 76 will produce about 24,320 lbs. (11,030 kg) of poop over his lifetime, and a woman living to age 81 would produce about 25,920 lbs. (11,757 kg) — so a lifetime of a woman's poop weighs about as much as three adult male hippos. Not to mention how many gallons of gasoline a person will use over a lifetime, How many gallons of fresh water? etc. etc. I find it amusing to see the soccer moms with 5 kids bragging that they are "Green" , recycling their trash and driving hybrid autos thinking they are great defenders of the environment.

Interesting observation. Never gave it thought that way.

 

[Citycrosser]

It’s interesting that it appears no one responding to the OP likes or enjoys the physical act of driving a car. I do! I’m 75 now and remember the day I got my license. Pure joy. I looked forward, I and still do, to road trips. I enjoy the precision of driving, e.g., correctingly shifting a manual shift, engaging the clutch on an up hill from a stopped position, parallel parking perfectly on the first try, staying off the white inner line when a curve or bend at speed, etc., etc. i could go on and on.

Riding my ebike brings similar, but different joy. For example, as I approach a hill, it’s cool to downshift at exactly the right time to maintain the cadence and momentum. It’s fun to take a twisty trail at speed without losing momentum. (Yes, I do slow down if walkers, joggers or slower bikes are on the trail, but at 6 am, there are few.)

Just my two cents.

I agree that a road trip is fun and I do enjoy driving my manual transmission car. What I don't enjoy is sitting in traffic for every commute. Those are two entirely different things. Automakers sell a myth that all drives will be this "road trip" style with open roads and a sense of freedom. However, sitting in traffic trying to get to work is the opposite of freedom and becomes something dreadful over time. Which is why I try to commute via e-bike, train, Lime bike, running, etc. as much as possible. And I realize how lucky I am to have those options. I've lived in cities, suburbs, and rural parts of America and I realize how limited the transportation options are in some areas.

 

[larry-new]

Learning to drive a manual tranny without the clutch has made driving more fun, thanks to a tractor trailer driver I worked with for years...it's how large trucks are shifted, by and large...it's a blast adapting that to, say, a VW. Downshifting, especially.

Speaking of transmissions, and also used to a ten speed Jeep, it's also useful to think of an ebike's PAS settings as a second transmission...comparing, say,sixth gear with PAS 2 to seventh gear with PAS 3, to find that sweet spot, all of which will change as the grade/breeze changes...