It is built around driving cars, but not necessarily car ownership. From what I gather through movies and television, cities like New York City don't really have car owners, but there are a lot of taxi cabs. Now Uber and Lyft have moved into small towns that never had taxis.

Most people^ don’t actually want to own a car and deal with breakdowns, maintenance, repairs, fender benders, etc etc.

They want the convenience and freedom a car provides. Right now in many places the best way to get that is ownership, so we suck it up and buy a horribly depreciating asset that causes headaches.

That could quickly change if someone can figure out how to make using a car just as convenient while also cheaper.

^ of course there are car enthusiasts who will always want to own, but that’s a tiny fraction of car owners.