I'm in love with my car. It goes a lot deeper than just being able to mash the gas. For young people, and for lots of people without much money, a car is the most valuable thing they own. For people with families, the commute to work is about as close as they get to quiet time. For older people, being able to drive is a sign of independence.
People make their cars a second home.
They spill biscuit crumbs in between the seats and splash coffee on the dashboard and leave old sneakers in the trunk until they sprout toadstools. Or they wash their car every Saturday and clean all the cracks with a toothbrush. Some people think of a car as simply a machine, a vehicle to get them where they're going. Those are exactly the people who will use mass transit. Here's hoping there are enough of them to make it work.