The Crazy Man and the Cars
Once upon a time I knew a crazy man who wanted to abolish automobiles.
He wasn’t really crazy, of course, and he didn’t want to “abolish” automobiles in the sense of destroying every car in existence and forbidding their further manufacture. He was an supporter of the “car-free” movement, which advocates a return to living in the urban cores ( Read more... )
First, as a pro to cars, and a con to public transportation is the style of construction of current US cities and suburbs. Most extant urban areas (which term includes suburbs) were designed in a climate of cheap individual transportation.
That means certain things are common, such as the "single family home" and the "lawn" that were previously unheard of. Trillions of dollars and decades of effort have gone into such constructions. It will not revert quickly or easily. As quickly as anyone may wish it so, that change will be as many decades in the making as it was in the setup.
The second issue that your analysis has missed is that we live in a world, not merely a nation. Our ability to continue purchasing the fuel that allows us to operate vehicles in the transitional period (that has actually yet to begin) from IC vehicles to battery/FC vehicles is dependent on our ability to produce value to compensate those that sell us that fuel.
Our ability to produce that value is dependent on many things. Remarkably high on that list is our willingness to allow people of moderate to low skills to play menial trades for menial wages and live the lifestyles that are afforded by those wages. We do not currently possess that willingness. There are many other requirements, and we currently posses none of them.
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