Download or read book Carjacked: The Culture of the Automobile and Its Effect on Our Lives written by Catherine Lutz and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2010-01-05 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Carjacked is an in-depth look at our obsession with cars. While the automobile's contribution to global warming and the effects of volatile gas prices are is widely known, the problems we face every day because of our cars are much more widespread and yet much less known -- from the surprising $14,000 per year that the average family pays each year for the vehicles it owns, to the increase in rates of obesity and asthma to which cars contribute, to the 40,000 deaths and 2.5 million crash injuries each and every year. Carjacked details the complex impact of the automobile on modern society and shows us how to develop a healthier, cheaper, and greener relationship with cars.