Even when I lived in a smaller city where the route would have allowed for such a thing, it isn't necessarily an option, because bus service often starts too late in the morning. Or there's my parents' house - they live in a moderate-size American city of about 250,000 inhabitants, but the nearest bus stop is half a mile away, along a road that lacks sidewalks. That walk would have barely been possible, let alone reasonable, many days of the year.
And yeah, all of that does imply that modern urban planning may be something of an own goal in the proverbial class war, but, nonetheless, that's the situation.
My impression also is that many of the most dependable cars are inexpensive. I've been so amazed at the reliability of the Honda Fit (it required no major repairs until it got totaled around 120k; my main beefs were with the hatchback which needed to be oiled quite often, and the tire pressure sensors that seemed to fail around once a year or so) I was amazed enough that I bought another one (with a three year payment)
I like Hondas, I like the Chevy Sonic, I like the Nissan Altima. I think the Nissan Sentra has dangerously little purchase on the road, and can't stand the drivability of either the Toyota Corolla (almost crazy optimization of gas car for high m.p.g.) or the Camry.
I think the roar of the engine and the sounds outside are an important sensory channel in driving, so "super quiet" doesn't matter for me.
I'd still rather take the bus and train than drive.
I used to commute 90 minutes on the bus and rail on a daily basis. I assure you, even at 90 minutes, a nice car is _still_ absolutely just a luxury. A dependable car may be required, but not a fancy one.