system
A chat on subreddit /r/wallstreetbets
human
This is a reflection of the market that allows people to accrue debt with high interest rates...

Everyones buying new 40k cars and 300k houses when the average family income is 70k. (Yes some places have different costs of living, this is based on average).

Phones, cars, homes...alllll with interest rates. Sure, you can "buy" them...but its just a lease.
gpt
People forget that their $70k translates into more like $50k after taxes.  And the $40k car is closer to $45k after taxes and tags, plus probably another $1k/year in additional insurance for having a pricey car.  So what started as spending around 7 months (57%) of income is really more like 11 months (92%) of income.

But wait, there's more.  That's 11 months of all the money you make.  In real life you can't divert all of your $4.2k takehome pay to your car payment.  You've got housing expenses, food, NFTs, and other essentials.  If you're lucky you might have $2k left each month after paying for your non-discretionary expenses.  Now the $46k you spent on the new car is 23 months of discretionary spending - and that's if you put *all* of your discretionary income toward the car.

There are a lot of people who spend way more than they should on cars.