The current socio-ecological crisis requires a fundamental change of our lifestyles – a key aspect is the transition from a private car centred mobility to more sustainable ways of transport. Nevertheless, the car is still at the centre of our world. Although this is the case due to an inherent infrastructural dependency, from a psychological perspective the affective and symbolic car dependency is a core interest. How can we understand the subjects’ relation to the car and their resistance to alternative modes of transportation? Therefore, we have to note that the affective-symbolic aspects of the car are closely linked to social conditions of production and distribution.

On the one hand the car represents the promise of social advancement and symbolizes wealth. Its affective-symbolic significance is closely linked to socio-economic status and the idea of individual social achievement. On the other hand, the car represents the domination of nature. It provides an option to express unconscious feelings such as aggression and disappointment that are structurally produced within the capitalist mode of production. The car can alleviate one's own experience of precariousness and/or powerlessness, e.g. by fantazising about owning an exceptional car one day or by driving by endangering others.

In our presentation we outline these affective-symbolic aspects of the car from an affect-theoretical and psychoanalytic social psychological perspective. We illustrate this theoretical discussion using the example of in-depth hermeneutical interpretations of two advertising videos for electric vehicles.