well said
I agree, the delusion that HSR will "get us out of our cars" is a big part of the problem. The LA to Vegas run is also hated on by these people because both LA and Vegas are perceived as being "car-topias" that are wastelands for other types of urban transit. Actually, Vegas works pretty well for many people with walking, riding the monorail, and taking the occasional bus or cab. LA has some reasonable metro-transit (despite the bad press it gets) and it surprisingly bike friendly.
And finally - so what if some folks drive their car to the LA train station, bullet-train to Sin City, rent a car for the weekend, then bullet-home? The HSR would still get used, bring in revenue, and subsidize the movement of produce from the inland empire to both metros.
America is going to be car based for decades to come. Let's move towards more efficient cars, and choices that complement that car infrastructure and fleet we have, as opposed to pretending that the age of the American auto is coming to a close.
