I hate to break it to the writer, but as a suburb of Washington, DC, there is most definitely public transportation in McLean, VA.  Maybe not on her block, but she's probably not that far from a bus or subway line.  What she means is that it's not that convenient for her to wait for the bus or to bike to the subway.... in which case she should, in addition to getting rid of her third car, be lobbying her local reps for better public transportation and bike lanes.  Or at the very least, drive to the Metro and take it from there.

I am not sure of what perfect little world you have in Denver, biking and bussing are not that easy in most cities.
If you have a family and both parents work
you need three cars just to make sure you can get to work and still transport the kids.  When one car needs work,  you don't have time or money to get it fixed right away.

I've read statistics that say that it costs $5000 a year to have a car (including depreciation). One of those folks is working full-time just to support those three cars! (Remember you pay for a car with after-tax dollars, so don't think in terms of gross income).

My husband and I don't have any cars and I don't work (at a job)....but if some people want to be slaves to their vehicles, well that's their choice....

I live in the imperfect world of post Katrina New Orleans where public transportation in most areas of the metro is ineffecient and unreliable.

What works for me is a partial commute by car. I ride to a "safe" location where I park, pull the bike from the trunk and ride. New Orleans is hot and humid most of the year so I don't bike far; however, bicycling just a mile lets me work some exercise into my schedule, saves me parking fees and the aggravation of dealing with the parking lot. It also puts me in a good frame of mind for work.

Whenever I read these high and might articles telling someone in a country-suburb to "ride the bus" or "get and electric bicycle", I have to laugh.  

What world are they living in?

It makes perfect sense for some people to save energy by having multiple cars for multiple uses.   If you are an average American, you simply can't take the bus to the supermarket and efficiently bring your groceries home.   It would take 2 hours just to get a loaf of bread!   And how is riding an empty bus at 8 pm at night, after waiting on a lonely stop that you had to walk 0.5 miles to get to , and having to carry 4 bags of groceries a reasonable transportation alternative?!

The last thing that Libs want to admit is the freedom and mobility of the personal automobile is on of the best things for human indepedence in the history of our race.  No, they want to pack us into overpriced "monorails" that 99% of the people will not live anywhere near...or use "electric bikes" -- on 45 miles per hour roads with no street lights and with no place to recharge or repair easily.

It always amazes me what excuses people come up with to rationalize their wasteful behavior.  I live in the Denver area, and trust me, this is not an alternative-transport friendly area.  There are almost no bike lanes.  The buses take forever and don't go everywhere.  Sidewalks in many neighborhoods (including mine) are teeny tiny and can only accomodate one person... no walking side by side with a friend here, unless the other person is in the street (or the gutter).  That being said, I have never owned a single car in my life (and I'm 28).  I walk, I bike, I take the bus... and yes, it takes me two hours to get a loaf of bread.  That is why I don't make a trip just for a loaf of bread.  I do lots of trips at once, or stop in on my way home from work to run errands.  And yes, I hike my (canvas) bags of groceries on the bus, or balance them on my bike handle bars.  You learn to deal with it.  Yes, sometimes it would be nice to have a car... when it's really late and I don't feel safe walking somewhere, for instance, or if I have a really heavy load of groceries (and yes, I admit I've bummed a ride a few times for occasions like this).  But otherwise I cope.  I'm sorry, but if you're whining that you just can't live without three cars... I can't sympathize.  The main reason why I've never owned a car is I can't afford one (though now even if I could afford one I don't think I'd buy one... unless maybe it was electric and I had solar panels ^_^).  So for me to read about people complaining that two cars isn't enough and they "need" three... I can't help but think... rich, spoiled people!  Plenty of people the world over do without any cars at all, let alone three, with much shoddier or nonexistant public transport than I'm sure most of us have to deal with.  You just have to get your priorities in order.  Now I don't expect everyone to give up their cars just like that, but truly... people that have THREE CARS and claim to be environmentalist to me would be like if Bush claimed to be a liberal.  I don't mean to be mean, but seriously, people... if two cars is your idea of hardship, it's no wonder we're the consumerist capital of the world.