Was the invention of the mass produced car a mistake?

[Anonymous]

I'm conflicted about it. I feel like life was simpler by necessity when the fastest route of transportation on land was a horse.

Yes

No

[OneViewpoint]

Automated personal transportation had a huge impact on the growth of the US economy. Could we have gone the public transportation route? Not like Europe did. The US has more land area and a lower population density. And cars drove steel production, road and bridge construction, technology advances, and a middle class based largely on manufacturing jobs. But it also drove a fossil fuel industry that led to a lot of global conflict.

Tangential to the automakers themselves parts suppliers, repair shops, gas stations, and scrap yards employed more middle class wage earners. Thousands more jobs were created in oil and gas fields.

Economic growth and mobility wouldn't have been possible without personal transportation and commercial over the road transportation.

Cold we have managed it better in a Capitalist economic system? Maybe. Woulda could've shoulda. 20/20 hindsight. We didn't. We damaged the planet.

Mistake? It's complex.

[Asker]

the us should have never grown past new england and the south east. there's literally no reason for someone to be living in the middle of nowhere in iowa

[Asker]

and your point about the mistake of gifting the rights of the earth over to businessmen stands true. utterly stupid idea and we are still dealing with the ramifications of that. capitalism isn't "the natural way of life", it's the dominance of banks and their fattened up hogs running rampant and destroying everything they can. the hog comes home and barfs up half of what he has to the bankman, after his long day of getting dressed and resting.

[exitseven]

The invention of the automobile and the interstate highway system brought America together. In the 1950 there was a TV shoe called Route 66. It was about two guys that travelled America in a Corvette. They got jobs and met the locals. It really illustrated how different people from different parts of the country were from each other.
Now the country is a lot more homogenized. We all eat at the same chain restaurants, watch the same TV shows and have a shared culture.
The automobile was a big reasonn why this happened. Besides that, th muscle cars of the 60's were awesome.

[exitseven]

Thanks for the MHO😎

[purplepoppy]

It saved millions of lives. Horse based transport killed far more people per year than cars.

[Asker]

I don't know you sort of had to be physically fit to ride a horse

[Asker]

cars enable people to be obese

[purplepoppy]

More a case of out of control horses killing pedestrians

[Asker]

pedasterian, you mean walkers or bystanders? lmaos

[purplepoppy]

Pedestrian is the correct word

[Asker]

you sound stressed out

[Abbycado]

And you have the option of a horse, if you want.

[Sun_Kim-Ai]

Look, if you want to go around on your horse drawn carriage I don't think there's nothing wrong, but I myself prefer speeding on my Escalade.

That said, I do agree that many people shouldn't be allowed to own cars.

[midnightmoon05]

Wow you are a true American! With the Escalade 😊👍

[mysteriousNicholas]

If anything, it's a miracle as much as the cruise ship, the freight cargo ship, the airline system, the aircraft invention, etc etc

[mysteriousNicholas]

The steam train 🚂 even

[lightbulb27]

I think invention of AI is mistake.

Car, no.

[midnightmoon05]

No, I love cars.
I like horses too. But I love driving 😊

[DrPepper12]

No. OUR response to cars was!! Designing cities for cars instead of people is among the greatest catastrophes of the 20th century.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I believe so.

[Anonymous]

You think horse can outrun a Ferrari?

[seeyounexttuesday]

no it was not.

[mysteriousNicholas]

Happy early Friday 😊 Mr Tuesday