I used to keep very close track of my finances and commented one day at work on how much of our money we spent on our cars. Everyone in the office thought that I was being preposterous and that they spent nothing near that on their cars. Nevermind the fact that I drove the oldest car and lived the closest to work.

Gas / insurance / registration are costs people just generally don't count into car ownership. Probably part of the reason people are so happy to buy SUVs that get terrible mileage.