A Change In Direction

Karlyn Bowman

For Americans, our cars and the auto bailout.

In 1900, most people lived within a mile of their workplaces and walked to work. By 1940, however, 57% told the Roper Organization they owned one "pleasure car," 9% owned two and 1% percent owned three or more. One-third said they didn't own a car. When Gallup and USA Today asked about auto ownership last year, 28% reported having one car, 43% two and 25% three or more. Just 3% said they didn't have a car or didn’t drive.

In a Pew Research Center survey from a few years ago, 91% described a car as a necessity, and only 8% as a luxury. A survey taken by the Roper Center for Reader's Digest probed auto ownership across generations and illustrates how the U.S. economy has improved the lives of ordinary Americans. In the poll, people 30 years old or over were asked how a family with two relatively new cars would have been regarded when they were growing up, and separately how such a family would be regarded today. Nearly two-thirds said such a family would have been regarded as "well above average" when they were growing up. Only 14% said that would be the case today.

Taking a trip road trip down memory lane provides interesting insights into our changing views about cars. In a 1935 Gallup survey, 86% of those polled favored drivers' tests that included "regular physical and mental examinations" to reduce the number and severity of accidents, 70% a "special marking on cars whose drivers have been at fault in accidents" and 68% the installation of governors to prevent speeds greater than 50 mph.

An interest in safety features shows up early in the polls. In 1955, 49% favored auto manufacturers installing "safety belts like those in airplanes" in cars. By 1962, a solid majority, 57%, said manufacturers should include seat belts. When asked a decade ago about options that automakers might offer in the future, around eight in 10 Americans said they would be interested in having dual passenger and, separately, side airbags.

In America, distances are vast, and Americans love their cars. In one recent survey by Fox News and Opinion Dynamics, 65% described their fellow Americans as "extremely addicted" to cars and another 28% as "very addicted." And surprisingly, most people seem to like their commutes. Not many of us have long commutes and most don't find them stressful. Just 2% told Gallup that they were "very stressful" in a 2007 poll and 22% "somewhat stressful." Fifty-three percent said they weren't stressful at all.

What Americans like less is American cars. A question asked in 1979 by Cambridge Research found that 46% thought U.S. automakers made better cars, and 26% thought foreign automakers. When CBS News asked the question in January 2009, 29% said U.S. cars were better and 55% said foreign ones.

Responses like that explain why most Americans opposed and continue to oppose federal auto company loans. In Gallup questions asked in November and early December 2009, 49% and 51%, respectively, opposed the federal government giving major assistance to the Big Three if they were close to going broke and declaring bankruptcy. Those who were opposed were then asked whether they would change their minds if one of the three major U.S. automotive companies was certain to fail without government assistance. Nearly eight in 10 remained opposed.

In a late March 2009 Gallup/USA Today poll, 59% opposed federal loans to General Motors ( GM - news - people ) and Chrysler to "help them avoid bankruptcy," while 39% favored them. A large majority of self-described Republicans (72%) and independents (66%) opposed the loans. Fifty-seven percent of Democrats favored them.

Although Americans may differ on the details of the Obama administration's new road map for GM and Chrysler, they clearly agree the direction needs to be changed.

Karlyn Bowman, a senior fellow who studies public opinion at the American Enterprise Institute, writes a weekly column for Forbes.com.