Cars are cool.
That's the basic concept that America has leaned on since the invention of the automobile, and that simple fact has dictated how we work and travel and vacation for well over a century at this point. In the process we've created a vehicular monoculture in this country that essentially demands that we buy cars, use gas, and build massive highways (often through neighborhoods not socioeconomically advantaged enough to prevent it), to the detriment of literally other form of transportation, most of which is more efficient and better for the environment.
But not as cool!