Car Culture
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BP, Toyota, and the Illusion of the Car System Tech
Last Christmas, an Oregon couple driving with their baby in the
backseat followed erroneous GPS instructions and got stranded on
wilderness roads in a Cascades snowstorm. Twelve hours later, they had
given up hope and taped a farewell video. While a rescue party
fortunately was able to save them, they no doubt wished they hadn’t
allowed their belief in modern electronics to override their own clear
eyes and good instincts.
August 5, 2010
Eyes on the Street: Hey Driver, Look, I Got the Light!
The one-way traffic sewers around my neighborhood on Sutter Street in the Tendernob (aka Lower Nob Hill) encourage speeding, so as you can imagine, there are constant near-misses by drivers intent on ignoring the pedestrian right-of-way. What you see in the photo above happened Monday evening on Sutter Street at Jones, as I was taking a leisurely stroll through one of the densest neighborhoods on the West Coast.
July 14, 2010
The Car Loan Loophole: How Auto Dealers Dodged Financial Reform
The fat lady hasn’t sung yet, but the country’s auto dealers have
been exempted from the financial reform bill now in its final stage in
Congress. Given that the purpose of the bill is to protect Americans
from harmful manipulation by the people selling them financial products,
this is a pretty stunning development. The nation’s auto dealers either
provide or broker most of the $850 billion worth of currently
outstanding car loans across America. That’s a pile of financial
product: It’s more than household credit card debt and second only to
home mortgages.
July 13, 2010
Jack Fleck on Market Street, Muni, Global Warming and Traffic
What does San Francisco's retired top traffic engineer think about Market Street, Muni and global warming? We sat down with Jack Fleck recently for an extended interview. The 62-year-old retired last week after more than 25 years with the former Department of Parking and Traffic and the current San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA).
July 8, 2010
Bay Area Counties Compete to Curb Solo Auto Commutes
In an effort to curb solo commuting and educate employees at various city and county agencies, and at several touchstone regional employers, 511.org and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District are sponsoring the "Great Race for Clean Air" in August and September. The event is similar to TransForm's CarFree Challenge or the SFBC's Gas-Free Fridays, but the focus is more on employers and education in the workplace.
July 7, 2010
Jon Stewart’s Stinging Rebuke of Presidential Promises to Get off Oil
Jon Stewart fired one of his more brilliant salvos last night, synthesizing 40 years of political posturing around energy independence and America's addiction to foreign oil in just under eight minutes of pointed satire. Using President Obama's Oval Office speech on Tuesday, where he urged a new energy future, Stewart skewered his rhetoric by playing clips from the past seven presidents, dating to Nixon, as they also pledged to get us off oil.
June 17, 2010
Bipartisan Ped Safety Amendment Hitches a Ride on House Auto Bill
The House Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday
advanced an auto safety bill aimed at strengthening U.S. DOT
regulators' hands in the aftermath of Toyota's recall debacle. Despite
Republican complaints
that the legislation would impose too many new costs on the car
industry, bipartisan support emerged readily for an amendment focused on
pedestrian safety.
May 27, 2010
Deadline For TransForm’s Car-Free Challenge Nearing
The deadline to sign up for TransForm's annual Car-Free Challenge is quickly approaching and the group is hopeful the event will raise awareness about the impact driving has on the climate, particularly in light of the recent oil spill in the Gulf.
May 26, 2010
The Little Green Man Doesn’t Know Cars, But He Likes Bikes
Mark Fiore, this year's Pulitzer Prize winner for Editorial Cartooning and the first to win for animated cartoons, recently provided this gem. Joe Commuter tries to explain to an alien visitor how mobility works on Earth and how convenient our cars are with their fuel made from "dinosaur squeezin's." With more than a few jabs at BP and the Gulf Disaster, Fiore does a great job dissecting our phenomenal reliance on petroleum. Though the alien doesn't know much about cars, he does suggest riding a bike to work instead. Higher life form indeed!
May 21, 2010
The Rise of Oakland Scraper Bikes and the Demise of Used Cars in Alameda
A few weeks ago we stumbled across this amazing video of the Scraper Bike phenomenon in Oakland, which we've also documented in this Streetfilm by John Hamilton. In the California is a Place film "Scrapertown," filmmakers Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari give you another look at Baby Champ and the work he is doing to promote bicycles and community in East Oakland.
May 18, 2010