ABSTRACT
Meanings of car use in everyday life are increasingly intertwined with deep public concerns for both social and environmental consequences of increasing levels of car use. This chapter argues that these concerns coexist with positive meanings of car use embedded in social relations which are only articulated in an extremely fragmented form. It explores ways in which people ‘make sense’ of personal car use in the face of what is sometimes termed our ‘car dependence’, and a collective sense of unease about the increasing social and environmental problems associated with car use. People are aware that car use is associated with significant social and environmental problems, and this awareness is tightly interwoven with meanings of car use in everyday life. The chapter suggests that there are plural ethics associated with car use in everyday life, and intense negotiations between the ethical stances. Discourses associated with car use are dominated by a limited number of issues and concerns.
