Trains are actually about a half-century older than automobiles, with the first example of the latter technology using the internal combustion engine emerging around 1886. And when it comes to experimental automobiles powered by steam, the first examples actually preceded the railroad locomotive by a few years.
The issue here from an American perspective isn’t really about necessity, but about market choice. The government has limited those choices for us.
“The government has limited those choices for us.”
The “government” has limited the choices? Explain please.