Why We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road

This is a “meditation book.” It takes a subject – cars, in this case – and offers a series of essay about them.

There’s not much rhyme, reason, or thematic flow to it. It’s just a collection of writings. I felt like it meandered quite a bit – I couldn’t figure out what the author was getting at.

But it came together in the end. Cars, to American culture, represent freedom. We want to drive because we want to be alone, and we want to control where we go, and we want to conquer nature – to see mile and mile roll under our feet, effortlessly.

To that end, the book gets a little unruly at the end, as the author express some sadness at how technological everything is becoming, and how Google is trying to monetize the concept of moving around and tracking us everywhere we go.

I enjoyed this quote:

Moving around freely is one of the most basic liberties we have as embodied creatures. That liberty is enhanced by machines that amplify our mobility, from skateboards and bicycles to motorcycles and automobiles – but only because they are not subject to remote control. Further, to be out roaming, giving nobody an account of your movements or whereabouts, is one of those subtle respites from the grid of accountability that tightens in the course of adult life.

And referring back to the title this is, I suppose, “why we drive.”

Book Info