If they're living paycheck to paycheck, it doesn't matter that it's "comically low in the US compared to other countries", because that would already be factored into their budgets.

But Americans drive substantially more miles each year than people in other countries do.

https://policyadvice.net/insurance/insights/how-much-do-amer...

In cars that burn substantially more fuel per mile than cars in other countries..

Note that this is not just due to geography but to actual urban planning/architecture. Post-WWII US cities were explicitly designed for cars, and that's a disaster ecologically and practically.

See also Ivan Illich's Tools for Conviviality which has a long analysis on why car-oriented cities has a terribly-low efficiency.

It's a disaster financially. Especially in california with prop 13 people don't pay enough property taxes to maintain the suburban infrastructure in front of their houses.