Cars In Our Lives Essay

Cars play a very important role in our lives. These days, we cannot imagine our lives without having a car. We use cars on a daily basis to get to work, school, and other events. Cars became part of the American culture in the1950s. In that era, the cars inspired authors, singers, and movie makers. Nowadays, we also refer to the “American car Culture” whenever we have a discussion about cars with each other. Cars have made our lives so easy because they are convenient and time-saving. Cars are also a symbol of a status for an individual in a society. If a person is wealthy, then he/she buys a luxury or sporty car, which isn’t affordable for everyone due to very high price. Cars reflect the psyche of the American people because they give them the feeling of independence, which we

don’t feel by using public transportation, which is true to some extent. Even though we need mass transportation to solve our problems, such as congestion, pollution, and never ending wars over oil reserves, Americans don’t want to give up on their cars, which make authorities think that what is the point of developing mass transportation, such as high-speed trains if no one is going to use it?

In other countries, people do not love their cars as much as we Americans do. It is either because they don’t have enough resources, such as oil and infrastructure or they like to use public transportation for traveling. Whatever the reason might be, we cannot afford so many cars on our planet just because they cause problems. I believe that it isn’t possible to change the psyche of the American people about cars in a shorter span of time since it started sixty years ago and became popular over time, but it is possible. The change has to be done in near future if we are to going save our planet from emissions and possible wars.
In “In California’s High-Speed Train Efforts, Worldwide Manufacturers Jockey for Position,” Tim Sheehan explains the importance of high-speed train in California. High-speed train has so many advantages compared to any other kind of mass transit project, which makes them stand out in the crowd. These high speed trains will not consume oil, rather they will run on electricity. We have already seen a huge change after the introduction of hybrid cars. These trains won’t release emissions, which will help us achieve our environmental-protection

goal. In California, the environment protection legislation has already passed, which requires motorists to smog their vehicles every two years to make sure they are in perfect condition and not hazardous for the environment . In order to solve problems related to transportation sector, we have to develop a high-speed train on emergency basis. These high speed trains have been developed in most of the countries across the globe. These countries include France, Italy, Spain, South Korea, Canada, and China. In order to build a high-speed train in California, we will definately need assistance from other countries. This project is in the news from past several years, but due to some unknown reasons, it has not entered in the development phase yet. There are more than dozen foreign companies that are interested in the development of this high-speed train project in California. The author also explains that our federal law requires that the company that will win the bid for developing this project should build all the components domestically. Some of the foreign companies have build their production plants in the United States, but they are not able to produce the components that are needed for an electric train. For example, these trains will be build using aluminum, which is not possible produce in the existing plant that some of the foreign companies, such as Kawasaki built several years ago. According to Ignacio Barron de Angioti, director of passenger rail for the Union Internationale des Chemins de fer “The expected development of high speed railways at the global level in the coming years is extremely spectacular” (qtd. in Krisher, par. 13). Even though California wants to build a high speed for the betterment of the public, it will take many years for this project to function in an effective way.
After the development of this high-speed train in California, the success of this project depends on the residents of California and rest of the United States. Americans are too fond of their cars, and convertibles are the main example of it. In “Drop your Top: Convertibles Poised to Make a Comeback,” Tom krisher emphasizes on the high demand for the convertibles in the United States after the end of the recession. According to Stephanie Brinley, “Convertibles were early casualties” (qtd. in Krisher, par. 5). The demand for convertibles fell down due to recession in 2008. Automakers at the time of recession realized that it wasn’t socially acceptable to make the money while others were struggling to keep the roof over their heads. Moreover, people also stepped back from buying convertibles because it could be life threatening to own a car worth thousands of dollars. Now when the recession period is ended, people are becoming interested in buying convertibles. The high demand for convertibles is giving a golden opportunities to the car-maker companies, and they are also coming up with the latest and up-to-date car models, which is attracting car enthusiasts.
In conclusion, the high-speed train in California must be developed in near future for the betterment of the residents of California. The development of this project will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs in California. Upon completion, the high-speed train will provide a convenient and time-saving way to travel without the hassle of waiting, which is painful. This project will help us achieve our environmental-protection goal because these trains will run on electric power. If the Americans change their psyche about the cars, then these kinds of projects will be advantageous for our country. This project will end the traffic congestion in the major cities of California, such as San Francisco and Los Angeles. Right now, the United States is one of the largest oil-consuming countries in the world along with China and India. More consumption of oil means that our environment is also getting damaged due to emissions and other chemical gases that our cars release. These high-speed trains will reduce the demand for oil, which means we will be able to control pollution and never ending wars over oil reserves. The success of this project depends on us. We will have to give up on our cars in order to protect our environment from further damage. In my opinion, having a one car per household is not a bad idea, but we Americans have more than one car in our garages, which shows our love for the cars. We also need to promote hybrid car technology because they don’t release emissions at all. Moreover, some people in America are realizing that the cars do cause problems. These people are bringing a positive change in society by keeping one car in their houses. In order to bring this positive change on a larger scale, the government needs to make public service announcements explaining the benefits of using public/mass transportation and setbacks of having a car.