My disinterest with personal automobiles arose when I lost the first one. It was in the Spring of 2010, before graduation and well after the fluctuating days in March. Lost dates and occasionally feeling left out morphed into relief. I was glad to be rid of the responsibility. Driving (I like to call it the stress test) is a challenge that I encounter rarely. Using the word challenge is completely intentional for this discussion.

I still love different types of cars and the sport of driving, especially rallying and drifting. Growing up around grease monkeys and the smell of oil lingers in my mind to this day. At age 10, I stepped out onto the back porch of a shared space and the odor was seemingly omniscient. Drag races will provide a similar environment and the industriously stinky fog is inescapable.

AAA Transmission logos and rumors of a Snap-On truck arriving with goodies are whispers from my youth. All the automotive garages in existence have a candy machine that has stolen quarters occasionally from an innocent youngster. To this day, they continue to lock up after twisting the coin to the point of no return.

There are many perspectives that come from all types of automotive exhaustion. The mental and physical bandwagon effect that a loud engine can have on human senses is undeniably overwhelming. My mammelness craves the power. Why have we made machines to spread away from one another, get closer or perhaps find privacy? Humans do much more than visit their loved ones with gasoline powered Speedy Thrones. In later stories, I hope to illustrate unique and honest outlooks of a car-filled (driven) life so we can think of ways to thrive without them.

I like to compare the cost and convenience of a car to a loveable monster, capable of twisting our bodies into a mangled configuration or positioning us for an imagined step ahead. A leap if you really want to GO.

Automobiles are privacy boxes that zoom past grounded organisms at 50 mph, barely separating flesh from wind and hot asphalt. If these boxes were invisible, would we still stare awkwardly left and right at the folks beside us? Do they become human faces or blades of grass blowing in the wind?

Does the automobile worshipper know what that looks like standing still? The wind and rush of cars, people staring straight ahead, oblivious to the whispers and steps of mother nature that tread forgotten sidewalks.

Gasoline fueled authority boxes bring me goodness and others have surely benefitted from emergency vehicles. Curious snakes will make venomous love to forearms if given the chance. Theres plenty of wasting away going on on this planet so let’s not contribute to that by pressing a pedal that uses “the bones of a dying world” to fuel bar-hops or trips to Panama City. Even electric cars bolster authority and bourgeoise falsities, stealing away more of our good intentions to replace them with commercial attractions.

If you know me or see me, it’s obvious the way in which I run errands and stow away groceries; with a backpack, road bike, and plenty of stamina. It’s possible for my peers and I to get along without an automobile in the future, just as long as we’re mindful of one another. Extravegent desires and what we think we need must be set aside to enable people to cross a road more often.

Congested cars are an ugly sight. Production of these objects that have the power to move much faster than us but are controlled by irresponsible and distracted humans should be ceased. Engineers and executives of the automotive industry, please spend your time sharing secrets and helping others get where they need to be without promoting the speedy throne lifestyle.