Why Cars Still Matter in America and What Happens When You Don’t Have One

A dependable car isn’t a luxury. Sometimes it’s the difference between safety and risk.

Every few years, someone declares that Americans don’t really need cars anymore. Between rideshare apps, remote work, and a renewed love affair with walkable neighborhoods, we’re told that personal vehicles are becoming optional. That might sound reasonable if you live in one of a handful of cities where public transit actually works and your daily life fits neatly inside a few square miles.

For most of the country, that version of reality does not exist.

Why Cars Still Matter in America

The United States was built around the assumption that people would have cars. Our suburbs, job centers, healthcare systems, and even grocery stores are spread out in ways that quietly require personal transportation. When you have a working car, you barely notice this. When you don’t, it becomes painfully obvious how much of your independence depends on it.

A car isn’t just how you get to work. It is how you keep that job when your schedule changes. It is how you get to a doctor’s appointment that cannot be done over Zoom. It is how you show up for your kids, take care of aging parents, or respond quickly when something goes wrong. Without a car, everyday life becomes a series of compromises, delays, and missed opportunities that add up fast.

What we rarely talk about is how this lack of mobility affects safety.

We are quick to tell people in bad situations to “just leave,” as if leaving is a decision rather than a process. Leaving requires timing, planning, money, and somewhere safe to go. In much of the country, it also requires a reliable way to get there. Without that, staying often feels like the only option, even when it is not a good one.

When Car Ownership Becomes a Safety Issue

I am currently helping a woman with a young daughter who needs to get out of an unsafe living situation. She is disabled, waiting on assistance, and has no financial buffer to fall back on. Her car is her only realistic way out, and right now it needs repairs. Until that car is fixed, her options are limited in ways that are hard to explain unless you have lived it.

This is not about convenience or comfort. It is not about upgrading to something nicer or newer. It is about restoring the ability to move freely and safely. A working car gives her the ability to leave her abuser, to get to a place where she and her child can breathe and begin to rebuild.

This is the part of car ownership that rarely shows up in glossy ads or market reports. We talk about horsepower, tech features, and monthly payments, but underneath all of that is something more fundamental. Mobility creates options. Options create leverage. And leverage creates safety.

When your car works, you have choices. When it does not, those choices start disappearing one by one. This is why I care so deeply about keeping older cars on the road and why I push preventive maintenance as more than just a way to save money. For many people, a reliable car is not a luxury item. It is a lifeline.

I have set up a GoFundMe specifically to cover the repairs needed to get this woman and her daughter somewhere safe. This is a fixable problem, and it is one that can be solved quickly with enough support. We are not trying to solve everything at once. We are restoring mobility so she can take the next step forward.

If you are able to contribute, thank you. If you are not, sharing the fundraiser still helps more than you might think. Either way, this is a reminder of why cars still matter in America, not as status symbols, but as tools for independence, agency, and safety.

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Help Her Get to Safety