The book does hit a few good points about our automobile culture. The design of our engines has hardly changed in the 125 years that they have been around. Incredibly, gasoline engines still waste more that two-thirds of the fuel they burn and emit 9 kilograms of CO2 for every gallon of fuel burned. Fuel economy in the U.S has stagnated at about 22 miles per gallon for the last 20 years even as vehicle efficiency has increased. The reason, of course, is that vehicles have become heavier and more powerful. The authors also mention the heavy cost of owning and operation a vehicle in the U.S. Since many households own two vehicles, that works out to $15,000 per year.
regardingplace.com/?p=8846