You guys mean, get by with one car right...not "buy". Yeah they can. I know lots of couples and families that do. It just takes a little bit more work.

My husband and I have gotten along for 6 1/2 years with only one car.

Our car died about a month ago. We have been getting by on our bicycles and borrowing friends cars when we need groceries/larger items. It's possible, but it is an utter pain in the ass. Granted, that's zero cars, not one, but even one was getting rather difficult... We're learning to live without though.

Can American families get by with one car? Yes.

The better question is do they want too? No most people will would probably cite convince as the main reason why. We live in an instant society, why should we wait to go some where if we don't have too?

I've lived in a few places where you can't get from Point A to Point B without physically walking or biking in six lanes of traffic. One was in a small town in Texas where you couldn't even get to the post office without being in 50 mph traffic... there were steep embankments where the sidewalk should have been and no shoulder on the highway. Good luck getting around without a car in those places.

My family's got by with one car for as long as I remember.

But I live in New York City, where there's an adequate mass transit system remaining. Obviously, it's not the best system out there, but it does the job most of the time. By the way, I say "remaining" because the mass transit system here used to be bigger and more comprehensive in the decades way before I was born, just like most other urban cities

@thelushie: I think the question isn't so much if they can, but if they're willing to make the adjustments. There are plenty of options for people who want to put on less mileage - carpooling, park & ride, kiss & ride, etc. Maybe it's the city snob in me, but 1 car for 1 driver seems incredibly wasteful and inefficient.

@thelushie: It depends on where you are. My husband and I had to do this for a while and unfortunately it just does not work in our city because the public transportation system here is so awful. I would love to be able to only drive one car.

My husband is from England, where he always used public transport (which wasn't always particularly reliable) and even though he has to take a train and bus to get to work, he commutes rather than drives now that he lives stateside and has been doing so for the year and a half he's been working.

Yeh, his commute varies from an hour to an hour and a half, but you can't beat $60/month total transportation costs with no insurance premium to worry about for him!

Now me and my new Mini on the other hand....

The answer to the question is:

Probably more families COULD get by with one car, but then again, some families CAN'T.

I am a Realtor, and do relocations for people moving here from out of the country (car is not negotiable).

My Husband runs a catering company and therefore needs his truck for deliveries (again, non-negotiable).

So we live less than 2 miles from each of our company's home bases, but still both need our cars to continue in our chosen line of work.

Sure. It just depends on what your willing to sacrifice. We only use our car on the weekends. Live in nyc within walking distance of bus and subway lines. We decide on a smaller place because we could easily use public transportion

My Wife and I have had only 1 car for the last 19yrs. It has caused occasional hardships at times since we have 2 boys but can be done without major issues as a whole. I personally belive the benefits out weigh the negatives if it doesn't interfere with your jobs.

We used to, until my husband got a job in the Northern 'burbs while I got one in the Southern 'burbs. We travel OUT of the city each day in opposite directions. There's not a single city bus that goes near where I work. He often has to be in by 5:30 am before transportation is working in Boston.

Another thread where I can say "we can't go without driving." Rural Vermont, no public transport, everything very spread out, etc etc..

Maybe here (Berkeley) but back home (Yucca Valley) no freaking way. Everything is too far apart out there.

When I moved in with my wife (then girlfriend), I sold my car. Four years later (wait ... is it five?), neither of us has missed the extra vehicle. Of course, we live in a city and I work from home. So ... I don't really count. Ignore me.

We got by when I was growing up with NO car. So yes. Yes you can.

@seanmcleary: Here's the thing though - at the risk of coming off like a dick, people act like the two-car lifestyle was forced upon them.

But you could always work in the same neighborhood as your significant other, you could always live somewhere with better public transport options, and you could always live within walking/biking distance to work. It's just that they've made conscious lifestyle choices that require a couple or family to own multiple cars.

I don't know, it bugs me when people casually put down city living for its expenses and quality of life sacrifices, but those same people put themselves in situations that cost them thousands more in car ownership.

It isn't to say that one way is better than the other, but there really isn't a whole lot someone can't have if it was important enough to them.

I live south of Salt Lake City and my wife and I got by with one car for a year and a half. It was inconvenient but possible. Lots of extra driving around too.

We survived with one car for two months when one was not running. We found that we could do it, but I ended up spending most of my day in the car driving people places. Work, school, kids work. We may have been only using one car but we were putting lots of miles on it.

Right now we have no public transit options. We also have no road to get into town that is under 55mph or with a shoulder. So that rules out bikes, scooters or slower electric vehicles.

Were planning on moving out of state partially due to this.

@spinachdip: You have a point. However, for me and many people the cost of living in a big city with good public transportation would more than offset any benefits from not having to drive a car.

I think the real question is whether Americans can live without obnoxious, useless SUVs.

My thoughts are just because you have two cars, doesn't mean you have to drive them every day. Many people could walk/bike/bus to work, saving the second car for trips to the store or other situations where you need a car.

@gomakemeasandwich:

Based on your misguided generalizations, you must fit into one or more of the following criteria:

- Gay
- Single
- Childless
- City Dweller
- A princess who has people do everything for you, such as deliver, mow, haul
- Never tow
- Live where it never snows, or they plow your roads immediately
- Live where the roads are smooth as glass
- Work in a closet with no human contact, thus you never take more than yourself somewhere

I'm sure there are many more criteria that I could list, but I think you get the point. Just because YOUR lifestyle doesn't require an SUV doesn't mean that everyone else should fit nicely in your short-sighted, self-centered ideas of what people should drive.

I'm by no means an SUV apologist - I think it's ridiculous to see one person cruising around in a 6000# tank for the purposes of commuting, but think a little beyond yourself for a moment (I know, it's hard in a 'me first' society).

Once life changes, you have kids, take a job that requires you to haul stuff, it puts the need for an SUV smack in your view.

My wife and I have had only 1 car for about a year now. She takes me to work 3-4 days a week and keeps it for taking our son to the park, shopping etc. It's a pain, but so is filling up 2 cars, insurance for 2, oil changes for 2 etc (for your wallet). When we both worked and it was 45 minutes from her work to mine, we had 2 cars though. But my car was just a work beater. But everyone has to make their own choices on this issue.

My wife and I work only a few miles apart, and thus have been able to get by with one car for the past few years. Requires a bit of luck I think.

SUVs do not seat any more people than sedans. So, the need for seating does NOT justify SUVs. Many SUVs cannot tow, so that doesn't justify them. Many gays have kids, so that criterion doesn't work.
Now, carting around stuff (camping, etc) or living where you need all wheel or 4 wheel drive -- those are reason for an SUV. Those are the reasons we have an Element. I limited my partner to those that would get decent gas milage. I think it's hysterical to go to the mall in a suburban area 20 min from the edge of a major city and see row after row of *huge* SUVs. WTF do you need a hummer for?
FWIW, we did the one car thing for over a year, and had 1 and half for about 4. We were fortunate to work near each other. At one point, "near" each other was about 15 -20 minutes apart, but we made it work.
However, this past year I got a new job that requires a long commute to another city. If the housing market didn't suck, I'd move closer -- but the situation doesn't allow that. Jobs in my specialty are not available everywhere. So -- we are now a 2 car couple. FWIW I don't drive my car on the weekends.

@TheSpatulaOfLove: I get what you're saying, but you're overselling the point a bit. SUVs are not the only people haulers out there; they're not even the best at it. Minivans have more interior room and lower load floors. Station wagons get better fuel economy.

Also, I'm not sure what "roads smooth as glass" have to do with it. I've found that SUVs generally ride very harshly on rough roads. Unless you really need the ground clearance -- which means you're on a pretty rough two-track in the middle of the woods -- another vehicle is probably going to provide a better ride.

I also used to live in a hilly area that got large amounts of snow. The most popular vehicle there was...the Subaru Legacy station wagon. Four-wheel-drive, but definitely not an SUV.

@spinachdip: Unfortunately living where you work isn't an option for most people. Housing prices in most urban centers are out of reach for the middle class. Zoning laws also discourage putting housing near the commercial or industrial areas where most people work.

@TheSpatulaOfLove: Here in the Boston area, everyone without an SUV automatically abandons their cars when they encounter more than 3 inches of snow or a large pothole. I don't know how I survive without one.

@TheSpatulaOfLove:
Yes, sometimes people have a need for an SUV. But there are also people like a former coworker of mine who drove a huge SUV out of the city that she lived in and into the city that our company is in (probably about 15-30 mile drive one way). Then, while on her hour long lunch break every day, she would sit in her car with the engine running.

@spinachdip: My husband and I did this for 6 months when one of our cars finally died. It cost us far more in the end because while you are correct we COULD move somewhere with better public transport, he would have to drop out of law school and I would have to find a new job.

Sometimes its just not as simple as you're making it out to be.

@stacy75: bingo! location, employment & extra-curriculars for the kids are why we have 2 cars now & will for the forseeable future.

tried the 1 car route previously & here in the Valley of the Sun it was hell. never again!

We are having a hard time getting by with 3 cars (4 drivers) so I don't think we could cut down to one. One kid is leaving in August for college so we're trying to get through the summer with only three cars. Mom (me) is the only one without a job so I'll probably be the big loser in the car wars this summer.

@TheSpatulaOfLove: No, not an SUV is needed. Think minivan. Carries as much or more but is not a tank. Currently have a Baja. Carries me, my 200 pounds of tools, or three other people, or when I had to drive everyone back from a job, all of the above. Twenty in town, up to 29 highway.

@RandomHookup: Subaru Legacy or Outback or Baja, not an SUV but goes much better in snow. My sister had a large jeep SUV that we had to push out of the snow drifts. It was rear wheel drive only. Weird.

My wife and I have no problems with just one car in Chicago. We live in the city. She works in the city and uses public trans. I work in the heathen suburbs and MUST drive as there is no realistic public trans option for me.

I wish we had even one car on which to "get by"! I'm lucky that my parents lend us one of their 3 autos, or I'd be unable to even get to work.