In recent years, existing forms of daily urban mobility and their social and environmental impacts have become issues of debate and public concern. In this article we explore this issue through a specific case study: the analysis of the motives and perceptions that lie behind the acquisition and use of cars by low income residents in Santiago de Chile. Firstly we analyze how the car and the type of urban mobility that is generated are understood in terms of social and urban theory. Secondly, we present some general tendencies of car use in Santiago. Next we look in detail at the principal arguments behind acquisition, use and valuing of the vehicle by a group of low income users in the city. Finally, we offer, based on the analysis, some ideas that can contribute to the design of public policies that incentivize forms of sustainable urban mobility in the city.