Americans drive cars. Bicycles will never be anything more than a recreational activity to most Americans.
I had a reck a few days ago in my mom's car. I emailed a friend when I got home after the accedent. He knows that I ride my bike everyday to class and to get around town many days. His first response to the email was "You mean you don't have a trasportation to get around town?" Bicycles are just toys to most Americans. When I pull up on my bicycle with panniers and mirrors on my helmet people are in awe. Yet they wont look twice at a car with 2 rear mirrors. Also, I took my bike to the LBS. They had a new mechanic. He looks at my bike an said, "Is that a horn?" He obviously had never seen an Air Zound before. Yet he would't think it odd for a car to have a horn. But a bicycle with a horn is a novel concept. Strange.