Most people who own cars can&#x27;t afford fun or fashionable ones, or don&#x27;t choose to allocate their budgets that way. SF is a distorted perspective: car ownership is unnecessary, so the only cars you see are those owned voluntarily. I was struck by how new and expensive all the cars on the road looked when I lived there this summer. In Chicago, the overwhelming majority of the cars I walk by are 10-year-old beige econoboxes.<p><i>Luxury</i> cars may be around for the long haul, but I suspect cars of necessity will not.