I feel like leaving the subject of whether automobiles are good/bad as something that cannot be determined is just shying away from the question, and the possibility that the answer to it is that it is generally a bad thing. When you design cities and cultures and entire lifestyles around the assumption that everyone has or must have a car, all the unintended consequences of the automobile become bigger—necessary places aren’t walkable, air becomes so polluted you can’t jog outside, you create huge market demand for cheaply produced energy, and so on.

I’d like to hear anyone’s thoughts to the contrary? Are there any benefits that are bigger than the cons?