You would have a point, had the lack of mass transit in certain areas been always the case. The fact is, however, that the US had a decent system of trains, trolleys and buses which was subsequently dismantled as individual auto use increased.
There is a popular trope on the left alleging that the auto industry did the public transit in to promote car sales. While there is some truth in ii, it is a rather poor explanation. Public transit was killed by people abandoning it for cars, and any corporate maneuvering was mainly pulling the plug to end the agony. Please note that public transit survived in place where there was a demand for it.
I think popularity of cars in the US is due to three factors. First is the reptilian need for security and deflecting perceived thereat through (passive) aggression I already mentioned in my previous posting. The second reason is the land use - specifically the suburban sprawl that makes cars not only more attractive, but also necessary, while hampering public transit. The third reason is the Podunk nature of the US society. Unlike Europe with its well developed urban centers, the US was mainly a country of Podunks and every new wave of immigration brought more rural and Podunk masses from overseas. These masses longed for a piece of land and farm, rather than a place in a city and urban services.
The combination of these three elements explains the excessive individualism of the US society - the love affair with cars is but one expression of that excessive individualism.
Wojtek