and then there is the daily shame of driving one

This is the start and finish of the problem. We have a toxic car culture in the USA (but don’t worry, it matches and is intertwined with so many of our other toxic cultures). We are collectively stupid. We buy what the marketers tell us. We are what we drive. We are what we buy. You want to be the sexy professional working mom? Of course you drive the limo black Audi/Volvo/Acura mid sized SUV. You want to be the Alpha-male? You have two choices, but if you really are alpha - you have both: A HUGE truck for all of the coal rolling, 4x4 mountain expedition, boat hauling, camper trailer hauling, mountain Bike carrying, kayak keeping adventures you’re going on in your independently wealthy time.... and your sports car - or at least your sports car inspired full size SUV.

Detroit has fucked our country up six ways from Sunday, and we lap it up like little pieces of shit. Too few people buy vehicles for utilitarian purposes. (Any and every contractor who earns money with a truck or farmer who hauls hay is exempt from my venom). We buy trucks and SUVs because we can. We buy them because we “can’t see over the other cars”. We buy them because “they’re safe”. Yah - safe for the occupants. We now have streets and highways filled with light duty tanks that kill peds and cyclists, tear up our roads faster, damage the environment quicker... because fuckin’ Murica.

You bet your ass I drive a minivan. You know why? I need 7 seat belts for my family. And for 7 seat people, I have three choices (apart from brand): minivan, HUGE ASS SUV, or drive two cars. So I proudly own a minivan. Yep - it gets crappy mileage (compared to my leaf, corolla, or miata) but guess what? It’s almost double that of the SUV that could seat belt my kids. So fuck every person who is too cool to drive one. Fuck every person who thinks it’s “not cool” to drive one. Fuck every person who continues the trope that our cars somehow reflect us as people. Sure - KB drives a Porsche. I don’t know him that well, but when you listen, he’s not saying he owns a Porsche to flex and project status. Dude owns a Porsche cuz he DRIVES a motherfuckin Porsche. It doesn’t sit in his garage getting rubbed by a diaper. He straps a car seat in there and takes his kid to school (booster now I know - but you get the point).

Buy the car you need. Not the one you want. Better yet - don’t buy a car at all. Ride your bike. Minivans aren’t cool? Whatever. I don’t buy a car to be cool. I buy a car that makes the most sense. Fuck Truck Nation. Fuck buying SUVs the minute you have a kid. Fuck Detroit and the shit they’re peddling.