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Comment by makeitsuckless | Hacker News Reader

That's just condescending exceptionalism.

The vast majority of trains in Europe cover short distances in densely populated urban areas of which the US has plenty.

Also, I don't buy the "Americans love cars" argument. Americans have an oddly obsessive relationship with owning cars, but it's definitely not "love". Wester Europeans are in general far more passionate and discerning about cars.

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First, you completely misunderstood my comment. American exceptionalism is the suggestion that the USA is better than other developed countries because it is intrinsically unique. But that's not what I said at all; in fact, I said the opposite: our transportation system is not only retrograde, but worse than in other countries.

I'm also going to have to say "nope" to your auto comment as well. Western Europeans may have more cars per person, but that's not the same thing as love. We're the country of Tesla Motors and Google self-driving cars. That was what my "not a little, a lot" jibe was about—we are all about ratings, blue books, discernment, reviews, specs, mechanics, all of that. There's a reason the song "Fun, Fun, Fun" by the Beach Boys ("And she'll have fun, fun, fun / Till her daddy takes the T-bird away") is such a cultural touchstone in the States.

Tesla and Google's self driving cars are recent development. In Europe, there is a much bigger culture around car engineering, innovation, racing etcetera. There's a reason why, unlike in the US, millions are poured into all forms of autosports. It's nothing abnormal for an ordinary suburban housewife to prefer a "sporting" car with manual gearshift. Brands like Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porsche etcetera exist in Europe because cars are seen as much more than just vehicles.

The American obsession with cars is different, but there doesn't seem to be an awful lot of "love" involved in the American car culture, at least not since the 50s.

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