AUTOS: The Painful Change to Thinking Small

(10 of 10)

middle-class whites back to the city, where they can get away from auto dependence. Suburban sprawl could be correspondingly contained. At minimum, businesses would have to plan factory and office locations differently; no longer could a company plop a plant or office complex in an area without public transportation, blithely confident that a work force would roll up to its doors in a fleet of cars.

Where does all that leave the classic, distinctively American, roomy, powerful, glittering family car? In a state of suspended animation. No one can yet write its obituary: millions still roam the roads, and millions more will roll off assembly lines this year, even though they have become harder to sell. A resurgence cannot be ruled out either. City planners, traffic experts, sociologists and environmentalists may rejoice in the big car's difficulties. But surely the majority of drivers who are turning away from it are doing so more in sorrow than in anger, and would gladly turn back if costs permitted.

The prospects for such a renaissance do not seem strong, though; economists generally are agreed that the era of readily abundant fuel has ended for good.

More likely, the heavy car will linger as a limited-purpose, special-use auto, but not again become the basic American vehicle. If so, many drivers will feel the emptiness that always accompanies the final breakup of a lingering love affair.

It is possible to delight in the economy and maneuverability of small cars; it is even possible to grow fond of them. It is harder to regard them as badges of wealth or symbols of potency. The big car was part of the American Dream —not the most intelligent or admirable part, perhaps, but certainly a central one —and not much is in sight to replace it in that role.

*True, according to a study by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.