>when we reproduce, do we make copies of ourselves?

You have been blessed not to grow up with a narcissist or vicarious striver as a parent.

Technically, cars are a means of transportation for people. However, an honest assessment of the American transit system might lead one to believe that the safety and comfort of cars (or the automotive industry and ecosystem) are more important than the people they're supposed to ferry. In reality, the system is complex, incentives and drives are many; a holistic view is more useful than forcing a tortured atomic hierarchy onto that system.