Even if you buy the car in cash, the purchase is one time payment, but after that they have you as a recurring customer for the long run with service costs which is where the money comes in.
No wonder modern cars are designed to be as difficult to service as possible by the owner. In my older Fiat I could change the air and cabin filter without any tools in 2 minutes. On my latest one they're both bolted with custom screws. WHY?! On my older one the user manual would be full of instructions on how to perform small maintenance tasks yourself. On the new one all it says is contact your authorized dealer. It's as if the cars of the past were designed by engineers and cars of today are designed by MBAs to be disposable black boxes like laptops or phones where only the genius bar employees have repair access.
The whole auto industry today is a large scale scam where we trade the environment and our health for corporate profits and is being marketed to us as a desirable lifestyle we should all aspire to which I wish not take part of but I can't due to shitty public transport in my city and employers placing their offices in buttfuck middle of nowhere to save on rent.
Unfortunately, the auto industry comprised of manufacturers and dealers have too much power in some European countries, and, as they keep touting how our dependency on car ownership is creating more jobs, their influence on the future of urban planning ain't going nowhere.
In theory, it should be easy to solve transport within a metro area with low-carbon solutions such as walking, bicycling and public transport.
I'm continually amazed by how good public transport and walkability are in some cities outside America. Bicycles also have amazing potential and a few successes in the world as mass transit.
It seems the issue is not with engineering a solution, but with the politics of what gets implemented through our politicians and bureaucrats.
So I'd need two bikes, one with specialized winter tires, that I'm replacing frequently when they get stolen.
Another gym membership to shower at before I go to work.
Better health insurance to lessen the financial blow of the inevitable hit and run.
More time to account for the longer commute. In my case it's 4-6x longer to bike than drive. Time I'm not making any money and time I'm at substantially greater risk of getting seriously injured.
The politics of it certainly do suck. There's too much money pushing for the jobs that our car dependence create.
Your attribution of choice in this matter is absurd. Maybe you're so lucky and wealthy that you can choose for whom you will work, where/when that work occurs, and how you'll get to work. That's an exceptionally privileged position and you should check your privilege before making such inane assumptive, and accusatory comments as this one.
As I said, it was possible 100 years ago. We -as a society- have brought this rut on ourselves.
Here's a thought.
Educated people can simultaneously be impoverished and current on world affairs.
I took a community college class in accounting taught by a guy who used to sell cars. He told me the money a dealership made was not from selling the cars, it was from selling the financing.
This was in the 1970's.
BTW, I recommend taking a basic accounting class. It will pay off for your whole life, even if you never run a business.