The left hates autos for the same reason they deride cowboys, because they are free agents, even free spirits, moving about the world without by your leave and without real control by leftists. When people move about in public transportation they are much easier managed. It is not a question of the environment but of the implacable lust of the left to control every proton on earth that really motivates these sorts of laws. If we had perpetual motion devices installed in cars which created no pollution, the left would seek to regulate them out of existence, although upon a different pretext.
