Stephen Bayley is a bit of a nob and has written an article in the Guardian about why we no longer "go out for a drive". He talks about how roads are too full and all that, which out in the sticks just isn't true.
But it got me thinking about how we did it as kids, and how I would even take girlfriends out for a drive somewhere. And I got to thinking about when I stopped and I think the reason that it stopped is to do with how we improved Sundays. To anyone who doesn't remember before the 90s, we had 3 TV channels, mostly showing rubbish, the shops were shut and cinemas and pubs had restricted hours. You could do some gardening or DIY, as long as you didn't forget something you needed as the shops were closed.
Which meant that if you just wanted to get out of the house, "going for a drive" was about all you could do.