Cars play an important symbolic role in On the Road. In a novel about travel, cars are the way the characters crisscross the country. Cars symbolize the freedom of the open road and the chance to leave behind dull, normal lives. Every time Sal feels bored, he imagines himself hurtling along a road behind the wheel of a car. However, the way the road affects cars reflects the way traveling wears down the characters. Dean drives hard and fast, to the point that cars often break down when he’s at the wheel. The Cadillac that Dean and Sal drive to Chicago goes from pristine condition to barely recognizable. The car’s deterioration symbolizes the characters’ deterioration. Just as the cars can go only so far before breaking down, the characters can endure life on the road for only so long. Sal and Dean both return to their relatively normal lives between journeys, recovering from the damage that life on the road does to their bodies.

Additionally, the way the characters in the story share cars reflects the community spirit of traveling around America. Hitchhiking is a communal activity, in which people share their cars in exchange for gas money and company.