Until car prices come down I'm not excited about new cars. I really had no idea that 2014-2017 would be the end of small, basic, cheap, reliable cars in America. Last I heard the median price of a new car was above $50, which is just not feasible for most car-buying Americans.

I don't think this is all that surprising. Car prices, car insurance, and maintenance costs are at all time highs, and costs of nearly everything else have risen faster than wages.

Older cars are being held longer, and newer cars aren't offering many advancements to justify the price increases and higher insurance costs.

Personally, I've tried to reduce my car dependency as much as possible. As soon as I had the ability to buy a home along a train line and bike trail into my city's downtown, I did so. Then sold my car. The cost of an occasional rental or rideshare was nothing in comparison to car ownership. I saved tens of thousands of dollars over the span of a few years, and then ended up buying my attainable dream car.

The price of car ownership is one that our built society has placed on us as near mandatory, and escaping that dependence is financially liberating for both private and public finances.