When you can’t get what you want, you teach yourself to want what you can get and then preach to everyone else that they should want it too. This applies to many other things too beyond just cars.
It’s not that the criticism of private cars isn’t valid, but not having one because you can’t afford it isn’t virtuous. It’s only virtuous when you could easily have one but choose not to.
I’ve found that the people most strongly opposing cars are the ones that are forced to use them due to insufficient public transport and cycling infrastructure.
And the ones unable to use cars but have to navigate a city that prioritizes cars