Private car as a social vehicle: A critical investigation of the socio-cultural determinants of private car ownership and use in New Zealand: A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Resource Studies with Honours at Lincoln University

Abstract

Cars have become an essential part of everyday life, but bring with them significant social and environmental problems. Drawing upon predominantly North American and European literature, popular media imagery, and the experience of motorists, this dissertation approaches car ownership as a cultural phenomenon. This transcends orthodox understanding which focuses on economic and environmental impacts. In particular, having acknowledged that consumerism is a response to the alienation inherent to industrial social structures, cars are viewed as an example of symbolic consumption. In exploring such symbolism and its origins, it is recognised that while their meanings may evolve through social interaction, the mass media enables manufacturers to selectively invest particular meanings in their products. One such meaning which plays a central role in symbolic car ownership is that of freedom and escape from the same industrial infrastructure which produces them. This continues to be exploited by manufacturers, who are engaged in the continual innovation of such symbolism in response to the ongoing sophistication of consumers. With cars forming part of an increasingly universal system of commodity symbolism, it is therefore essential that existing research into environmental issues is augmented with insights into such symbolism.