An intuitive grasp of the size of the US eludes a lot of Americans, let alone a lot of Europeans.

When an American says, "that is a three-day drive", they don't mean it will take three days of six hours a day with breaks every hour or two. They mean it will take three days of driving 12+ hours a day with 10-minute breaks every three or four hours. NY to LA is around 41 hours of actual driving per Google. So three consecutive 14-hour days just in the car, not counting getting a hotel room along the way, eating, using the bathroom, showering...

It was said specifically while in this discussion, directed at me. I travel world wide for work, 350 days a year. I know exactly how big the globe is. That I would drive across a continent is ludicrous.

That many American cities are these monstrosities where car travel is the only way to navigate is because of poor design not out of necessity. The American car industry managed to halt the installation of public transport to a more effective degree than their European counterparts in the 50-60s.

This is not because Los Angeles is bigger than Zürich, or that it takes twice as long to cross the US compared to Europe by car.

In Zürich and Switzerland, they have highly effective trains. The US could do the same, but choose not to.