Because not only do a lot of people live where they must have a care for transportation (Midwest, for example) simply to get to work and buy food, but many of t

Because not only do a lot of people live where they must have a care for transportation (Midwest, for example) simply to get to work and buy food, but many of these folks don't have much money. If you make $20k/year (more than minimum wage), that $3000 car is 15% of your income income. It is a major expense. All this isn't so bad if you've been lucky enough to live at a low wage and not run into any major issues, but this is pretty rare.