It's very funny to read the highs and lows from "not a car guy." The big secret about modern cars is that a new Camry is roughly on the quality level of luxury

It's very funny to read the highs and lows from "not a car guy." The big secret about modern cars is that a new Camry is roughly on the quality level of luxury cars from 10-15 years ago. As you spend more, you get more, but cars are really better than they've ever been in more ways than just power. However, I don't think that cars being more fun than ever before is contrary to goals of reducing how much the average person drives. Better cars, fun, torquey EVs, and the like are not what is stopping construction of protected bike lanes and light rail. Having cars that have sucked for decades has not slowed the expansion of car-centric suburban sprawl around cities like Denver and Seattle. A personal anecdote: last year I moved to another state, and I looked for housing with a lot of my core needs within walking distance. Having secured this, I proceeded to buy the most fun, least practical car my budget would allow. It's OK to want infrastructure that doesn't cater to cars, but still enjoy driving for driving's own sake.