You've got the cause and effect backwards here. The average purchase price of a car in constant dollars is about double now because those are the only cars to purchase and the only group that can afford those cars are those who are affluent. In general the people who purchase new vehicles ironically are not the ones who own them. They consistently purchase new vehicles at a regular cadence.
The existence of some base model Honda Civic or similar doesn't imply you or anyone can actually buy one.
The existence of some base model Honda Civic or similar doesn't imply you or anyone can actually buy one.