People who have never been to L.A. really have no idea how insanely huge it is. Driving to my apartment from the start of city (before you even get to L.A. county) and having the city just keep going and going and going for two hours and not because of traffic jams is something you have to experience to truly understand.
The phrasing is what bothers me. Saying they have an addiction makes it sound like they're abusing something they don't need, when in fact you do need a car if you're going to live in Los Angeles. It's like comparing food to cocaine, they're not equivalent.
You’re being shat on for something SO FAR beyond your control and they’re just not understanding… well they understand, but they’re disingenuous in their arguments.
Building your city so that you can't survive without a car is what a city having a car addiction means.
I think the idea is that the larger society/city/culture is addicted, not the individual people