Auto Motives: Understanding Car Use Behaviours

By: Karen Lucas and Evelyn Blumenberg and Rachel Weinberger

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Synopsis: Our global reliance on private automobiles as the primary means for transporting individuals is likely to become of increasing political importance over the next ten to twenty years. While the individual benefits of car-based travel continues to be recognized, the wider environmental and social cost of automobiles is also significant and the need for political intervention to control some of their worst effects is increasingly accepted within policy circles internationally. It is within this wider context that "Auto Motives" is set. It critically evaluates the evidence for better understanding 'what drives us to drive'. Uniquely, it draws together and explains the diverse theoretical literatures that pertain to people's auto motives and considers these theories in light of empirical research of what actually informs our automobile decisions and behaviours. With contributions from leading academic experts from around the world, its core arguments and narratives are presented in such a way as to offer widespread appeal to a wide ranging audience.