When you can’t get what you want, you teach yourself to want what you can get and then preach to everyone else that they should want it too. This applies to many other things too beyond just cars.
It’s not that the criticism of private cars isn’t valid, but not having one because you can’t afford it isn’t virtuous. It’s only virtuous when you could easily have one but choose not to.
I can certainly understand any American as hating cars because you cannot get around here well without one. The roads and layouts were not made with pedestrians in mind. Sidewalks and bike lanes just start and stop randomly, forcing pedestrians onto two lane roads. And the public transportation in most cities hasn’t changed a bit since the 1970s, so idk I def get it here. There are no other options unless you wanna get a ride or risk your life