Why We Drive: The Past, Present, and Future of Automobiles in America

Taking the position that Americas love affair with cars and highways is not a cultural phenomena but an problem that is entrenched in economic and political forces, this manifesto chronicles the rise of the U.S. highway system, its very orchestrated genesis, and the alarming increase in reliance on automobiles. With a format that incorporates a blend of cartoons, historic photographs, and minimal text, this handbook reveals the players—among them crooked politicians, unscrupulous businessmen, and convoluted tax shenanigans—corruption, and greed that has led to endless miles of asphalt. In addition to analyzing the impact of the cultural bias towards driving and how driving became such a dominant mode of transportation, this comedic treatise offers a blueprint for rebuilding a functional and sustainable public transportation system that would bring wealth, happiness, and freedom.

Andy Singer is a cartoonist and illustrator whose drawings have appeared in numerous magazines and publications, including the Boston Globe, Discover, Esquire, the New Yorker, the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, and the Washington Post. At its peak, his weekly, self-syndicated comic strip, “No Exit,” ran in 24 papers. He is the co-chair of the Saint Paul Bicycle Coalition. He lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota.