I don't know about suicide, but many people theorized at the time that crime would rise during the Great Recession in the US. However, counter-intuitively, crime continued its decades-long decline. Why this happened is the subject of debate.
One possible interpretation is that the crime rate looked like it was starting to increase again immediately before the financial meltdown but then started to decline with the recession.
Autmobiles are far more efficient than they once were, also they have far cleaner engines. Even with smog certifications dirty cars become so worn out they can no longer be repaired.
One can still purchase a beater but it will have fuel injection and a computer.
That's an over-reaction.
https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/chemicals/hsees/merc...