I wouldn't say that people are stupid. Many people just desperately need a car. I wish it were not the case, but at least in the United States, most people ne

I wouldn't say that people are stupid. Many people just desperately need a car. I wish it were not the case, but at least in the United States, most people need to buy a car or else they cannot go to work, get groceries, etc. Indeed, most suburban places in the United States are car-dependent places: you cannot do anything without a car. That was by design. I cannot judge people for paying such high prices given that they need a car when living in that kind of environment. If anything, I sympathize. I too am floored by the current car prices, but I think you underestimate how desperate some of these people are for a car, any car, immediately. That said, I do also agree that a lot of this now cultural. The subdivision I am currently living in is reasonably small, on the order of 100 houses. Despite this small size, I see people driving their kids to the bus stop a few hundred feet away (yes, even on clear days with good weather!). Today is the yearly yard sale and as I type this people are driving up to a house, getting out to look at what is being sold, getting back in their car, and driving to the next house (and the lots are not large!). That's just one of the problems with suburbs in general. They acclimate people to driving everywhere, so they think that they need to drive everywhere, even when it really is perfectly walkable.