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C00002 00002	IN DEFENSE OF THE AUTOMOBILE
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IN DEFENSE OF THE AUTOMOBILE



	At least since the nineteen forties, there have been attacks
on the automobile's role
as the mainstay of American personal transportation, but I am not
aware of any systematic defense.  In part, this is because the
automobile is so integrated into our lives that few people can bring
themselves to take seriously the possibility of abandoning it or
even seriously restricting it.

	However, anti-automobile views have recently begun to influence
government policy in a serious way, and even if the trend does not
reach the point of seriously hampering the use of cars, it has reached
the point of wasting large amounts of money and is likely to waste even
more money in the future.  Finally, if the automobile is to be preserved,
and even if industrial civilization is to be preserved, it is not too
soon to start doing something about a long term source of vehicle fuel to
replace petroleum.

	In this article, I would like to make a case for continuing
to regard the automobile as the basis of the transportation
system of the United States and to make some suggestions for
preserving it and improving it.

	First let us summarize the arguments against the car.  I hope
I can do it fairly.


	Let's begin with air pollution.  I shall start with the substantive
problem and go on to discuss some arguments that I consider frivolous but
seem to have considerable impact on the public mind.

	

	2. Impending fuel shortage.

	3. Waste of natural resources.

	4. Traffic.

	5. Accidents.

	6. Parking problem.

	7. Encourages suburban sprawl.

	8. Too expensive for the poor.

	9. Not usable by children, the infirm, and the very
old.

	The advantages of the automobile are few but decisive:

	1. It permits convenient access to a larger area than any
other means of transportation.

	2. It permits the transport of rather large quantities of
material as well as people.  Things wanted while travelling can
be kept in the automobile.

	3. It is the most comfortable means of transportation in
bad weather, because you can get it close to the house and
most destinations.

	4. It provides privacy.

	5. It is more comfortable than many other modes of transport.

	Let us consider the disadvantages in detail now and
see how important they are.

	1. Air pollution.  In my opinion, the 1974 air quality
standards may be good enough.  It will take a while to see whether
we will be satisfied with the air quality that will be achieved
when cars not meeting them are scrapped, and I think we should
wait and see.  This would mean an indefinite postponement of the
tougher 1975 standards.