油價高漲，美國人忍痛舍“車”

美國被稱為“車輪上的國家”。與小型汽車風靡全歐洲大不相同，美國車素以不計油耗、追求寬敞舒適而著稱，油耗頗高的多功能運動車（SUV）和皮卡在美國市場風光多年。美國汽車多的原因是許多美國家庭的居住點分散，工作、購物、娛樂場所等都離家甚遠，因此需要開車出行。

然而最近，美國整體經濟不景氣，不斷創新高的油價逼得美國人開始減少開車，更多使用公共交通工具。高油價促使人們改變出行方式。值得注意的是，美國有些地方雖然提升了公共交通的票價，但使用公共交通的人數還是在增加。

即便那些仍然堅持開車的美國人也開始想辦法省油。一些人開始嘗試上下班“拼車”（幾個人共用一輛車）。通用汽車公司總裁說：“美國市場正在轉向小型車，而這種趨勢很可能是長期的?！?/p>

在殘酷的現實面前，美國人對車的癡情已經無可避免地減弱了。

In Los Angeles， the heartland of the four-wheel drive， a revolution is under way. What was once unthinkable is becoming a shocking reality: America’s all-consuming love affair with the car is fading.

2)Surging petrol prices have worked where environmental arguments have failed. Many Americans have long been told to 3)cut back on car use. Now， facing $4-a-gallon fuel， they have no choice.

Take Adam Garcia， a security guard who works near the railway station. He commutes a huge distance: 100 miles a day. He used to

4)think nothing of it. But now， faced with petrol costs that have tripled， he is taking action. He has even altered the engine of his car to boost its mileage. “I have to. Everyone does. I can’t afford to drive as much as I did，” he said.

Jonathan Baty， a lighting designer， has cycled to work every day since 1993. It’s a nine-mile round trip through the heartland of a car-based culture once famously termed “5)Autopia”. But now Baty has company on his daily rides as others choose two wheels rather than four to navigate southern California’s streets.

General Motors， once the very image of American industrial might， is in deep trouble. Cities are now investing in mass transit. GM’s share price recently hit a 54-year low， prompting one top investment bank to warn that the firm could go bankrupt.

As Americans enjoyed the 4 July holiday weekend， increasing numbers of them were staying at home rather than hitting the road. Newspapers were full of tips for “stay-cations”， not weekend breaks away. The fact is， the vast majority of Americans cannot give up their cars altogether. Too many cities lack any reliable public transport.

Adam Garcia is one of those caught. He does two jobs and his daily road trip by car is a necessity. “We don’t have much of a choice. I have to drive，” he said. Sacrifices come elsewhere， in giving up trips to the cinema and to see friends.

But America’s changing relationship with the car is just part of the story of how the most powerful nation is changing in the face of the oil price rise. America has been built on an oil-based eco-nomy， from its office workers in the suburbs to its farmers in the fields.

Since the 1950s the American cities have been designed for the convenience of the car as much as its human inhabitants. People live miles away from jobs， shops or entertainment. If you take away cars， the entire suburban way of life collapses.

“Suburbia has been unsustainable since its crea-

tion，” said Chris Fauchere， a Denver-based film-maker who is producing a new documentary on the issue called The Great Squeeze. “It was created around cheap oil. People thought it would flow

easily from the earth forever.”

Fauchere’s film， due out later this year， aims to tackle the profound changes caused by a world where oil is becoming scarcer. He does not think that it is going to be easy for America to make the adjustment. “It is going to be tough. It is like a chain reaction through the economy. But if you look at history， it is only crisis that starts change，” he said.

The suburbs are already being hit. As cars become more expensive， the justification for suburbs seems to disappear. Some commentators have even suggested that suburbs—once the 6)archetype of an ideal American life—will become the new 7)slums.

In the face of expensive fuel and crashing property prices， crime and gang violence has risen in many suburban areas and tens of thousands of homes have been repossessed because of the 8)mortgage crisis.

But there are even deeper changes going on. The car， the freeway system and cheap air travel made America smaller. Everywhere was easily accessible. That， too， is ending. Higher fuel prices have dealt a terrible blow to America’s airlines. They are slashing flights， raising costs and abandoning routes. Some small cities are now losing their air connections.

Even farmers are not immune. They might not need a car to get to their fields but their ferti-lizers use oil-based products whose prices have gone through the roof. A handful have started using horses again for some tasks， saving petrol on farm vehicles.

The American dream of the last half century is thus changing. The car and its culture are now under a pressure unimaginable even a few years ago.

在洛杉磯，這個四輪汽車飛馳的心臟地帶，一場變革正悄然進行。曾經不可想象的情景現在正變成觸目驚心的事實：美國人對汽車的狂熱正漸漸消減。

出于環?？紤]的辯論并沒有奏效，高速飛漲的油價卻顯現了它的威力。減少使用汽車的呼聲，許多美國人聽是一直聽了不少?，F在，面對四美元一加侖的油價，他們就真的別無選擇了。

以在火車站附近當保安的亞當·加西亞為例，他家距離公司很遠：每天往返有100英里（約合161公里）。過去他根本沒把這當一回事。然而現在，面對漲了三倍的油價，他采取行動了。……