1) I rarely see furnished apartments in the bay area. Most of the "furnished apartments" have either been high priced (Say $3K - $4K) or been sublets at someone's place. Depending on your aesthetic sensibilities, furnishing might not be too expensive. For example, I invested in furniture from Ikea when I first moved in and then have been slowly making the apartment nicer.
2) I live in San Francisco where I could just walk everywhere for basic amenities and public transportation is pretty good so in my case a ZipCar does work well. When I lived in Mountain View, I definitely felt that a lack of a car kind of put restricted by mobility to work and home. There is only so much travel you can do with a bike. Again, depending on where you live, where your work place is and what you like to do for fun, you might definitely be able to live without a car.
2) I live in San Francisco where I could just walk everywhere for basic amenities and public transportation is pretty good so in my case a ZipCar does work well. When I lived in Mountain View, I definitely felt that a lack of a car kind of put restricted by mobility to work and home. There is only so much travel you can do with a bike. Again, depending on where you live, where your work place is and what you like to do for fun, you might definitely be able to live without a car.