What to do about cars

Choice of car doesn't necessarily even represent how wealthy the owner is.  I remember a coworker who held multiple low-skilled jobs in order to finance a car he couldn't normally afford, and I know young adults living with their parents and putting most of their income into their cars.  There are wealthy folks who drive shitboxes.  Above all, there is a limit to how much a car be used as a sign of wealth, since just by being behind the wheel, you are showing the world that you are not wealthy enough to pay a driver.

However, I'm interested in substance, not wealth.  So my question to myself is how to apply my quest for substance to my choice of a car.  One possibility is to use common sense and buy a car with basic features and a reputation for dependability.  Any additional money that I could have put toward a luxury car can instead be spent on things that matter more to me.  That could be as simple as putting it into savings to strengthen my financial independence, or forwarding some of it to a cause I believe in.  Or in someone else's case, this could mean working fewer hours of overtime.  But mainly, the money wouldn't be eaten by the car.

I'd like to think deeper here.  Why limit myself to a choice of which kind of car, when there is a very real question of whether having a car at all brings more substance than it takes away from my life.  Without a car you can save a shitload of cash and eliminate worries about parking, accidents, and maintenance.  I know, most people consider their car a necessity, and it is.  But the car is a necessity only if your lifestyle makes it so.  The choice is more than whether to have a car or not, but whether to choose a lifestyle that doesn't require one.

What does a car-free lifestyle look like?  Generally it requires living in a community where you can either walk everywhere you need to go or you can walk to most things and take public transportation to other destinations.  Rentals cars, car sharing, and taxis all may have an occasional role too.  And it happens that places that fit this description tend to be culturally and historically interesting.