You make an excellent point, and I agree.
Thing is, I live near downtown Salt Lake City, but my office is located in such a place as to make mass transit a damn joke (two and a half hours each way, with a one-mile hike included, for what should be a 10-to-15-minute drive).
If it were up to me, I'd never own another car again. I like walking. I like using mass transit for the fact that it lets someone else feel the road rage on my behalf. I like being able to read or get some work done on the way to work.
But sadly, I'm also a single parent, and money does not come easily for me. My car just gave up on me, and while I qualify for financing, they want 10% down, which is going to be more than I bring home in a single check.
The auto and banking industries do not make it easy or sustainable for people like me to get the help we need. All I want is to be able to provide for my child and not spend 1/4 of my day commuting, when I could be spending that time with him or engaged in one of my many hobbies.
Oh, well. Some things never change, even when they do.