>They don’t actually allow you to access more things in less time. They reshape cities to spread things further out so you spend the same time accessing the same things, but you get there by sitting in traffic rather than walking or riding a bike
You're equivocating. In some vague, general sense, over a long period of time, cars might make it harder to access things. For any given person at any given moment, having a car gives greater access to more things in less time.