Americans like freedom - if we didn't, we wouldn't have kicked the Brits out over two hundred years ago. But more than that, we have an unending lust for personal freedom. That's why us Americans are so obsessed with driving - sure, we COULD take the bus, but why stick to a predetermined route that often takes longer, and is cramped with other (probably annoying) people. No one outside of urban areas really takes public transportation unless they're financially unable to support a vehicle of their own. Contrast that to the Japanese transportation system, which relies heavily on trains. I'm sure people own cars in Japan, but it's not central to the lifestyle like here in America. While part of it may have to do with America's spread-out geography, we're a culture that desperately craves the individual freedom granted by our motor vehicles.
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