>>1118996It's not that cars themselves are inefficient, it's that the way we use cars as a society is inefficient.
For example, many people own cars that they drive, in average, an hour or two per day in, mostly by themselves. However, most cars are built to seat at least 5 people, and its generally better to drive for longer in cars (short distance trips generally aren't very good for engine longevity).
The best answer here is carpooling/ridesharing/taxis, since these make more substantial use of a car and can transport more people using less. However, many people need cars because they live far away from work or town and they don't have a lot of other people, and motorcycle/scooter riding is possibly less safe in the countryside because of more drunk drivers and 50-60 mph roads.
Then again, the vast majority of pollution/traffic congestion occurs in more highly populated areas, so taxis/carpool/ridesharing makes more sense there anyway.
