The car provided Americans with an enviable standard of living. You could not get a steady job with high wages and health and retirement benefits working on the General Livestock Corporation assembly line putting udders on cows.

In this quote, P. J. O'Rourke reflects on the transformative impact of the automobile on American society and the standard of living. He suggests that the car played a pivotal role in improving the quality of life for many Americans by providing new economic opportunities, better jobs, and a higher standard of living. The car allowed people to access better employment and wage opportunities that were previously out of reach.

O'Rourke contrasts the rewarding work in the automobile industry, which offered good pay, benefits like health insurance, and retirement benefits, with more menial jobs in other sectors, such as those in agriculture or livestock. He humorously refers to a job at the General Livestock Corporation, putting udders on cows, to illustrate a less desirable, lower-paying job that lacked the benefits and opportunities that a career in automobile manufacturing could provide.

The mention of steady jobs and high wages highlights the economic growth and upward mobility that the automobile industry helped foster in the U.S. during the 20th century. It also points to the broader concept of how certain industries, like car manufacturing, were central to the rise of the American middle class, offering people the chance to secure jobs with long-term benefits.

Ultimately, O'Rourke’s statement underscores how the automobile industry became a symbol of economic opportunity in America. It reflects a time when manufacturing and technological innovation directly contributed to improving living standards, giving many Americans access to financial security and social mobility that they might not have had in other sectors.