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Cars are much better than they were a few decades ago—more comfortable, powerful and reliable. They are equipped with safety features like air bags and stuffed with CD players, satellite radios and talking navigation gizmos. Adjusted for consumers'rising buying power, the typical powerful new car costs less than one a generation ago.
现在的汽车比几十年前的汽车要好很多——更舒服、功能更强大也更可靠。它们配备了安全装置，比如安全气澳，装上了 CD播放器、卫星广播和语音导航设施。随着消费者购买力的日益增强，一辆动力强劲的新车比上一代人购车时的价格要低。
But in part because cars are so desirable and affordable, roads are increasingly clogged with traffic. Today in the United States, there are 230 million cars and trucks in operation and only 193 million licensed drivers—more vehicles than drivers! Studies by the Federal Highway Administration show that in the 30 largest cities, total time lost to traffic jams has almost quintupled since 1980.
然而部分原因是汽车如此诱人且价格合适，所以路上的车也越来越多。现在在美国，有2.3 亿汽车和货车投入使用，但是只有1.93亿有驾照的司机——车辆比司机要多！联邦公路管理局的研究显示，在30个最大的城市中，自1980年以来，因交通堵塞所损失的总时间几乎增加了4倍。
Worse, prosperity has made possible the popularity of SUVs and the misnamed "light" pickup trucks, which now account for half of all new-car sales. Exempt from the fuel-economy standards that apply to regular cars, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks sustain American dependence on Persian Gulf oil. A new study in the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty showed that the rise in SUVs and pickup trucks "leads to substantially more fatalities" on the road.
更糟糕的是，繁荣兴旺使得SUV和被误称为“轻”皮卡货车的普及成为可能，现在这些车占新车总销售量的一半。除了应用于普通汽车的燃料经济性标准以外，运动型车辆和皮卡货车使得美国持续依赖波斯湾的石油《风险和不确定性杂志》上刊载的一个新的研究表明，SUV和皮卡货车的增加“导致了道路上更多的死亡事故”。
