In boom times, it’s probably true that people can develop irrational exuberance e.g., taking out a big mortgage because hey, housing prices are going up everywhere. When things are good, maybe you don’t budget so precisely. I know I don’t!

But when ~20% of working age Americans are living off unemployment benefits, and millions more who work in industries like restaurants, hospitality, and travel facing the possibility that they will likely never have a job to go back to, my guess is that you’d have to be pretty well off (or very optimistic) to take on an additional $100/month car payment, not to mention adding a car to your insurance policy etc. :)