Enviro Comms

Cars are the most heavily subsidised product on earth

When we talk about subsidies, we usually think of a check written by the government to a farmer or a tax credit for buying an electric vehicle. But if we widen our lens and look at the true cost of doing business, there is one product that stands alone as the most subsidised commodity in human history. It isn't wheat, it isn't trains, and it isn't wind turbines. It is the car.(Car in this article refers to, all passenger vehicles including "pickup trucks.") The car is a consumer product […]

https://envirocomms5.wordpress.com/2026/06/15/cars-are-the-most-heavily-subsidised-product-on-earth/

2:52amWeb
Show threadmike8055h ago

@envirocomms5.wordpress.com Cars got a lot of hostility in their early years. They were banned in the 19th century UK, with fairly onerous exceptions for slow heavy haulage engines.

Once user-friendly cars became available in the 20th century, the actual and prospective car owners organized politically to remove 5mph speed limits and outright bans.

The AAA, now known for insurance and roadside assistance, was founded as a car owner lobbying organization. 1/2

Show threadmike8055h ago

@envirocomms5.wordpress.com Early cars like the Model T were designed to handle dirt roads normally used by horse drawn vehicles.

The mid-century highway building program in the USA (and the earlier one in Germany) was sold as a military preparedness thing. The Army had tried to send a convoy across country on existing roads and failed miserably.

Highway overpasses are designed to leave room for a tank on a flatbed to pass under the bridge. 2/2

Show threadEnviro Comms5h ago

@mike805 Yes. It wasn’t until later the AAA teamed up with the Auto industry. Together, they launched the aggressive public campaigns in the mid-1920s to redefine how streets were used. Automakers established free wire services to blame pedestrians for crashes, while AAA sponsored school safety campaigns and poster contests that successfully established the concept of “jaywalking,” legally clearing the streets exclusively for cars.
Another great example of how cars have been forced on us all.
https://www.vox.com/2015/1/15/7551873/jaywalking-history

LikeLike

The forgotten history of how automakers invented the crime of “jaywalking”

Vox
Show threadmike8054h ago

@envirocomms5.wordpress.com How was the reckless operation of horse-drawn vehicles dealt with? I know people getting trampled by horses or run over by carts was not exactly rare. But there was no license or insurance required to use a horse.

Computers and smartphones are newer devices that, like cars, basically punish those who resist using them. I have frequently said "I don't download apps, what's the other way?" and gotten a confused look.

Show threadDavva2h ago

@envirocomms5.wordpress.com

#BanCars is the moderate position.
If any other consumer product or drug did as much harm it would criminalised: and the producers & dealers locked up.
#Motonormativity

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externalities_of_cars

Externalities of cars - Wikipedia