I'm really more of a dog person than a cat person, but my cat, Tiger Woods is a dog-cat. (My daughter wants to rename him "Phil Mickelson" because she's mad at Tiger, but that's another story). He really is an exceptional cat and I Love him.
He hates the car and cries almost constantly when we take him to the cottage or the vet. If we can spare him the discomfort, we leave him home - but sometimes it's necessary to take him along. In those cases, he travels in his pet taxi. It's a closed container that we make as comfy as possible for him, but I would never let him run free in the car. I'd be afraid he'd jump in my lap as I was headed down the highway and I'd crash the vehicle!
But I see people with pets in their laps on the road all the time.
Don't they love their pets?
I know that dogs travel better in cars, but allowing them to sit in their laps is so dangerous. There are so many reasons this is wrong, but one is - the airbag! Don't they know that if the airbag deploys, their beloved pet will be crushed to death, and they could be badly injured too?

If you love your pet, restrain it in the car. Pet seat belts are available. So are pet taxis like the one Tiger Woods has.