Tricky question. I think the most important role belongs to Gatsby's car. His car is used as the vehicle (pun intended!) for creating the last conflict of the story. We've been shown this dirty, dingy, gray road where nothing lively or exciting happens between the Eggs and the City. It's been presented simply as a road that's there and traveled upon. Only the appearance of Myrtle breaks the monotony of this well traveled road. Then, without warning, the single incident that leads to the end of every character occurs along this very road.
Fitzgerald certainly does a nice job setting us up for it, though. Throughout the novel we see various modes of travel that are simply used as travel. We don't expect the car ride home to be the horrible conflict; we expected the conversation that would be had once everyone reached home to be the conflict.
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