As the used car market dries up, the price of used cars goes up. This increases the resale value of new cars, which lowers the net cost of buying a new car (because you will get more when you resell it). And the reality is, there's no shortage of used cars in America.
Which is interesting because US automakers pushed planned obsolescence as a way to reduce the used car market to lower the net cost of buying a new car.
That's a relatively new phenomena, quite the opposite was true until about a decade ago.
Your $1600 car was once someone's new car. Without people buying new cars, you wouldn't have used cars to purchase.
Does a server at a restaurant need a new car? That depends on a number of factors including salary and budget. But to say no one needs a new car is bs.
You need someone else to buy a new car so that you can buy a used car.