All I summise is this:
1. Cars are vastly more expensive than most US Citizens Realize & they pay for it.
2. Cars are one of the main costs to US Society, and one of the largest expenditures by Federal, State, and Local Governments for roadways, maintenance, and related costs.
3. Cars are one of the main societal elements that incur greater distances, push neighborhoods apart, and decrease the size of neighborhoods & by action community.

Our asses are leased out to China & other countries, and one of the main reasons is because of our dependence on the automobile and consumption lifestyle. If we learn to live and to experience life, grow communities closer and live healthier, we can get ourselves out of hock, otherwise Americans might as well get used to being owned by a foreign entity.

Think about that everytime you get in your car.

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/08/cost-car-ownership.asp#axzz1kxVx8hDm

http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2010/06/annual_spending_on_gasoline_ne.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_vehicles_in_the_United_States