It sounds fine to me. I looked it up in Dictionary.com, and found this definition that seems to apply: "a basic or principal item, thing, feature, element, or part: Cowboy dramas are a staple on television."
I'll risk sounding like another English poster, and say it seems to me that many more Americans than British regard a car a necessity of life. It is probably because we have better public transport, but it is certainly possible to exist comfortably without owning a car here.
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
It depends on where you live here. Surely in Chicago you don't need a car; neither of my daughters has one. However, if you live in rural areas or in cities, like Los Angeles, with substandard public transportation, a car would be a staple.
Bread is a staple; here in China rice is a staple; I get the "cookery shows are a staple of daytime TV'; I even get "cars are a staple of modern life" but the idea that the purchase of new cars is a staple seems wrong. It makes it sound as if everybody has to regularly buy a new car. Most of my life I owned a car but in my whole life I only ever boought two and only one of of those was new.
The staple referred to in the article wasn't "a car" it was "buying a new car".
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
I agree with the British point of view. A NEW car is not a necessity no matter who or where one is. I've owned two new ones, the last having been purchased in 1971. My present one is ten years old. Were I still in Portland, Oregon, I could easily do without one and use a bicycle or public transportation, although public transportation has gotten very expensive there.
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. -J. Krishnamurti
When a storm threatens, what do you rush to the store to buy? Bread and milk, the "staples". I've never bought a car befrore a storm hit.
Local transportation (public): The foreign national who was CEO of the local bus line was suspended after workers in sthe counting room were observed placing coatxs over the TV cameras which observed the money. He eventually was dismissed but no ne ever said why he was susjpended in the first place. Perhaps his having hired two convicts directly out of prison to operate busses (even though state law prohibiuted it). Or the new railroad connector (millions of bucks) between the airport and Boston commuter rail, which was to bring in added passengers, once Mass. was convinced they should send trains to it. Since it opened, airport passenger service has declined 5%.
The staple referred to in the article wasn't "a car" it was "buying a new car".
I didn't realize they were only talking about new cars. I totally agree. We haven't bought a new car in years. Buying a car that's a year or two old saves you a bundle, particularly if it's low mileage.
