Could your family live with just one car? Many American households would likely answer no. After all, in most homes, both parents work and need to get to and from their jobs. Kids need to be carted to school and soccer practice. We must commute several miles to school or work. For many, the idea of having one car isn’t feasible. But my husband and I are going to try it anyway.
We’re selling his 2006 Mini Cooper. Once it finds its new home, we’ll be down to just one car and a Vespa. Since I’m a writer I mainly work from home. His job is only about three miles away so if I need the car I can drop him off. Or if I want to work from a coffee shop I’ve got four to choose from within a half mile of our home. I think it will work fine for us and it will equal out to a monthly savings of nearly $300.
Turns out, one-car families are very rare now in the US. I found some interesting statistics from George Mason University. In 1922, there was one registered passenger car or truck for every nine Americans. Fast forward to 2006, the last year with complete statistics. The census estimates that there were 225,087,000 Americans aged 18 or older. At their disposal were 234,525,000 passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks, not to mention 8,819,000 heavy trucks. That means every adult in the US can sit behind a steering wheel simultaneously while leaving another 20 million vehicles sitting idle and unattended! No wonder the auto industry needs a bailout– we’ve got enough cars already!
Photo courtesy of fotographix.ca