In terms of transportation and city design, the US could learn a lot from Europe if it weren't so addicted to cars. It's better for the environment, mental well-being, and a sense of community.
The places where I go most often in Europe, people are nearly as car dependent as in North America. Get out of the big cities and you'll see how regular people live.
And rental cars can't be taken off road. It says so right on the rental contract.
It simply isn't economically feasible to have London or NY style underground networks in most cities.
I don't really get why public transport extremists are so against driverless cars. It would be a huge improvement to transport. Just think of them as small buses that aren't shit if you like.
Rental cars are a pain in the butt. Spend an hour getting one. You need someone to come with you to drive the vehicle you arrived in back or pay for expensive parking or an Uber. Repeat for when you drop it off. They kill all spontaneity.
That being said I would love to have a better train network in the US, just not at the expense of roads.
It's easy and convenient:
• https://youtu.be/SDXB0CY2tSQ?t=43
• https://youtu.be/muPcHs-E4qc?t=65
> I don’t want to walk to a station and then share the space with other people. I don’t want to lug grocery bags around.
Alright, use a bicycle then. I hear ebikes are pretty good these days. Or use a micro car if you must: https://youtu.be/B9ly7JjqEb0?t=101.
> I want to make pit stops.
A bicycle is better than a car for this.
> I want to go off road.
Bicycle again, but if you really wanna use a car the few times a year you may wanna go off road, go ahead.
> Want to live in the suburbs or semi rural areas so I can have a lot of land.
By all means, go ahead. Just as long as you pay in full for all the negative externalities you inflict on everyone else by doing so.
Entirely dependent on the infrastructure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqQSwQLDIK8
> What are you going to carry on your bike? Five bags?
Seems like a lot of groceries to buy at a time, but if you really want to: https://youtu.be/rQhzEnWCgHA?t=379
> I don’t want to go 5 miles away, I want to go 200.
You cover 200 miles every day? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REni8Oi1QJQ&t=185s
Regardless, you can own a car for those longer journeys just fine and still make most trips by bicycle.
> With bikes and walking, your world is small.
Yeah, that's why public transport is important too. Cars as well, although deprioritized.
> Electric cars powered by renewable energy get rid of most of the negative externalities.
They get rid of some of the noise and almost all of the harmful exhaust. That's about it. They're still 2 ton+ massive steel cages that are incredibly dangerous to everyone else, take up a ridiculous amount of space, and require extremely expensive infrastructure.
As for the rest, sure, I'm not really criticising your particular choices, it sounds like you live in a rural area where a car is necessary anyway. However, there's no way for everybody to be able to live like you do. There are just too many people. We need to live with long-term sustainability in mind.
You don't need to lug groceries around - just get them delivered.
Not OP, but I enjoy and value having personal space when I travel. Being able to reliably sit down is also nice.
It's amusing to see that your immediate reaction to someone else having different values is to accuse them of having a mental illness, and then trying to force your personal preferences onto them.
I think this is a social trust thing - lots of people are just scared of strangers. This is particularly true for high-violence/high-tension societies like the US.
My city (in Australia) is very peaceful and I don't feel bothered or frightened at all by the general public - in fact I like being able to people-watch, feel a certain sense of vibrancy, etc.
Good luck winning people to your side with that.
Are you saying you'd use a car for non-work trips even when the train would be more convenient?
And pay markup + delivery fee + service fee + tip? No thanks