And unfortunately, related to all of the points you mentioned, this need of the poorer suburban/rural people to own their own cars is what spurs on the subprime

And unfortunately, related to all of the points you mentioned, this need of the poorer suburban/rural people to own their own cars is what spurs on the subprime auto finance market. If you're making minimum wage there's a good chance you have bad credit, and your only option to get to work is getting a vehicle financed at a smaller, less reliable dealership who charges huge markups on decade old vehicles with 100k+ miles, and exorbitant amounts of interest, and they won't hesitate to repossess if you miss a payment. In the past couple of years in the US the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the FTC have started working to help these types of car buyers and protect them against deceptive practices in advertising and unruly markups, much to the chagrin of the so-called "Buy Here-Pay Here" dealerships. The recent election and the deregulation culture surrounding it, however, does may not bode well for the consumers. I wouldn't be surprised if the CFPB is dissolved entirely.