Say 'drivers', not 'cars': it's the people in inside the boxes that do the stuff

Why is this reply directed at me?

Because you're arguing that the semantics aren't important, and those quotes are examples where the semantics are important.

I think it's wrong to suggest that the only approach other than the status quo is the hyperbolic version you used in your argument against. There is a middle ground, and the media is more often than not failing to take that.