Honestly, part of it is that most cars are already good cars with quite good handling, commuting performance (or better), and fairly efficient.

Old cars of the early 90’s, and especially earlier, were much less capable as cost went down. I’ve driven 1950’s cars and pickups, and even “nice” ones handle like ass compared to new cars. I’ve driven average cars from the 70’s through today. Again, the economy car today is phenomenal compared to the economy car of those days.

So from a strictly practical point, buying a nicer car isn’t necessary to have a good, safe car anymore.

They also cost way more today as a proportion of consumer income than a car from the 70’s. So it’s significantly more expensive to buy a nicer car just because you want it.

And lastly, except for dedicated sports cars, there’s a fair amount of homogeneity between brands and classes. The top of the line production model isn’t that much nicer than the base model, it’s mostly entertainment systems and trim packages, and some upgraded power trains, but again, the economy car is already perfectly capable for 95% of a drivers needs.

Now, this is “ask car guys”, where yeah, we do like the nerdy or design differences of specific cars, so this group will buy the car they want if they’re capable. But I feel like your question is pointed at the masses, so I answered that way.

Lastly, almost all cars are liabilities, not assets. For the average person they are a drain on their wealth, which is why buying a decent used car, or an economy new car are almost always the prudent financial choice for the average driver. One exception is for business related vehicles, of which, many American tradespeople still foolishly buy pickup trucks when they really need vans, or they should commit to a cab and chassis class 2/3/4 truck with the appropriate toolbox/cargo setup.