If you can point out where I offended somebody, I'll apologize. And maybe you can do the same, since it has already been pointed out to you.

I don’t hate cagers, in fact I am one! I really don’t care if a person wishes to spend a lot of money on cars, it's just not for me. More and more people are seeing things this way, judging from the fact that there where more new bikes sold last year than new cars. It is easy to love cars. It comes so naturally in our society. Cars permeate all levels of our society and have been boosted for years by popular culture. I just hate seeing people get suckered in. For example—

People bought cars so that they could live cheaply in the suburbs, away from all of the crime of the city. Only problem is that more suburbanites die in car wrecks, than urban folks in random crime. Now with higher gas prices many are moving back.

What about the poor need-based folks who spend too much on cars? Hey it is a free country why not, but at the end of the day I’d rather own nice real estate and send my kids to college, rather than own a nice car.

Ever been to a play ground? There are no bike things; there are only steering wheels and cars things. Is it any wonder that you grew up and found a need to defend car- love?

Then there are the songs, here is a tiny sampling.
Route 66
Fun Fun Fun The Beach Boys
Mustang Sally
Pink Cadillac
Little Red Corvette
I Get Around
Drive My Car
Fast Car
Race Car Ya Ya Cake
Paradise by the Dashboard
Stick Shifts And Safety Belts Cake
American
Mercedes Benz
King of the Road

You can turn a car into an extension of your personality but it really is only metal, plastic and rubber. How many poor suckers bought vettes, only to still have to pay for call girls?

Actually you raise a good point. How is the average Joe going to survive without thier cars and pickup trucks? Cars do boost productivity. I could not imagine being a contractor for example without a truck. I can see that type of person seeing cyclists as elite a holes who have so much leasure time as to be able to ride thier bikes. Of couse we dont have to pay for gas or trucks!

Mad Max.

Spin the wheel, make a deal, restart that refinery, and ship us some oil!

Who run Bartertown? Who... run... Bartertown?

Blasphemer! I refer to Mad Max as an Australian driver's training video. Road Warrior was borderline ok, Beyond Thunderdome was a tragic waste of film.

Max: Thunderdome. How do I get in there?
Aunty Entity: That's easy. Pick a fight!

I know a guy in Newcastle that built a replica of Max's car. That guy needs a better hobby.

A much better hobby would be building a pedal-powered replica of Max's car. With maybe DIY electric assist.

The reason I'm a car lover is the same reason I'm a bike lover - I love mechanical things, especially those that go. This isn't a product of my culture per se, but it has a lot more to do with the fact my father was a mechanic and I have the same aptitude for working with mechanical things.

Now, the reason I said what I said is that I made an assumption when you said "cager" isn't derogatory enough. That assumption was that you blatantly dislike people simply because they have cars. That kind of thing is what I view as elitism, and there's really nothing I dislike more than an elitist. There's no way I really could have guessed otherwise from what you posted, so I'll retract my comment.

As for the money issue, I'd agree that most people don't need cars, etc. Or they don't need to spend lots of money on them though. For me, however, both cars and bikes are a hobby. I don't spend my money on much else; I'd rather put it towards bike parts, or my next bike/car. I don't need the sports car. Lots of cars are much more practical, but I'm an enthusiast. And I don't need to spend a few grand on a Bianchi but I'll do it anyway because it's my hobby.

I do happen to be a car commuter, and it is curently cheaper to live in the 'burbs and own a car (that figues in fuel, insurance, repairs, etc) than it would be for me to live where I'd need to to give up the car.

I grew up in Detroit, I live in Lansing, I used to go to the auto show every year. I can love cars as objects, beautiful artifacts, without loving what they're doing to the cities and to the planet. Like I've said before, I love giraffes but I don't keep one in my garage.

It's not elitist to have a strong opinion about something, even if that opinion antagonises others who have an equally strong opinion in the other direction. It's really hard to feel elite when you're alone on a bike on a busy highway, and big shiny beasts are breathing down your neck. This country is so whole-heartedly car-oriented, and the expense of the car you drive is so much the measure of personal success, that it comes as a shock to me that carfree status and bike ownership could signify elitism. So I learned something today. Cool. :)

As for you being a car commuter, that's cool too. In a country where 92 % of the populace drives alone to work in a 2 ton vehicle, far be it for me to look down on any individual who does that. Everybody makes out a cost-benefit analysis of their lifestyle, and makes decisions accordingly. It's cheaper for you to drive than to bike or take a bus, an I have to respect your sincerity in making that decision. I would only ask that when people think of the costs of owning a car, they realize that some costs are not paid by them, but by the other creatures and humans who share the world with them. Those other external costs should be entered on the spreadsheet, but they usually are not.

+1

I do know that when I've told "motorists" about the term cager, they thought it was pretty funny and sorta true. most were surprised to learn that some cyclists could harbor ill feelings about them.

Duh. Mine's in the backyard.

I believe that people who love their cars so much that they tend to defend their position no matter what facts they are presented with, have been blinded. Cars serve a certain utility. Beyond that it is just blind car-love. I don’t dislike cagers except when they yell, throw stuff, try to hit or actually hit me. Other than that I feel sorry for them (us), because they (we) are generally addicted to them. We need them to get to work so that the bosses can make more money and we can rush around and try to do all of the things that we think are important. I feel sorry for the masses that grow fat while waiting in traffic jams that amount to a vacations worth of time every year, for even the shortest of commutes. I hate the way that civilization is dependant on oil and all of the death that that causes. Certainly cars and their chemicals do cause cancer. Ever read a gas pump? What about all of that crap they dump in the air? It is the last three items that are a problem, because they amount to swinging your fist into someone else’s' nose. Like second hand smoke only much worse. War, cancer causing chemicals and air pollution, like it or not the populist car movement aint good for nothin' except big business and since I am an individual and not a corp, what do I care about them?

Ha, that must be the kind of giraffe where two feet can't touch the ground when it's standing up.

How about "caution cager on board" bumper stickers and swinging suction-cup signs.