Close to 250 people attended the Carjacked! book launch event on August 12th at Harbour Centre.

Sponsored jointly by the SFU City Program, the Car Coop and BEST the lecture by authors Catherine Lutz and Anne Lutz Fernandez was a great success, was much appreciated by an engaged audience as they delved into some of the myths and realities of car culture.

Some of the myths and realities covered included the myth that cars make financial sense, and that they are safer these days.

The authors, sisters with backgrounds in anthropology and marketing, pointed out that cars have become increasingly expensive over the last decades, with people spending a higher percentage of household income on vehicles than ever before. They said the the average household now spends approximately 20 percent of income on vehicles, up from 10 percent 50 years ago, with financing being one of the major costs.

On the safety front, they pointed out that in spite of selling advances and technology that allegedly make cars safer, in 2007 over 41,000 people died on America's roads, the equivalent of a nearly fully loaded passenger plane crashing each day. Add to that 2.4 million injuries of varying degree, and according to the authors "safe car" becomes an oxymoron. They also pointed out that while death and injury rates declined in2008 and 2009, this is dorectly related to a decrease in miles drives, due to the recession. There's a direct correlation between accidents and miles driven.

The engaged audience asked a number of interesting and insightful questions before a book signing at the end of the evening.

Copies of Carjacked are available from BEST for the price of $25 HST included, plus shipping and handling. Contact us if you'd like a copy.