Our culture, which is largely, if not entirely, shaped by a media that is supported through the money spent by regular people on the products it is paid to advertise, is deeply steeped in the notion that owning things, especially flashy, expensive ones, is a source of pride and well-being. Therefore paying for gas is highly irritating, but paying for a gleaming, well-engineered machine is masterful and rewarding.

Contrary to common belief, people generally have a lot of denial about what is actually motivating them in their consumer choices. For instance, most people are not willing to own up to the extent to which status-seeking influences their consumer behavior. Similarly, most people are unwilling to deal forthrightly with the issue of credit card debt - how much they take on in the pursuit of their lifestyle aspirations, why they take it on, and so forth.

In 1998, the average price of a new car was $23,480. Yet 17 million new cars are sold in the U.S. every year, and the average U.S. household owns 1.7 cars. This in spite of the fact that car ownership is financially devastating to the average person in the U.S., who only makes $22,000 a year. Owning a car is estimated to cost about $8000 a year for a new car, and about half of that for a used car. Although the great majority of American adults own a car, about half of them cannot reasonably afford one without cutting down on necessities or sinking into debt.