Anyway, I think for at least 80% of the people that use them in Poland, a car is more a luxury than a necessity. They're a powerful status symbol for many Polish people (much more than in the US) but they're a lot more trouble keeping than in the US too. Gas is more expensive, roads are usually in poor shape, Polish people are mostly awful, reckless drivers with no basic understanding of basic road courtesy, car theft is a real fact of life (not as much as it used to be, but it's still something you have to think about) and trying to park in cities is an exercise in frustration/rage management.
A car is a luxury in Poland ? Don't be silly. We are not poor as we were 10 years ago ! Symbol of the status ?! Maybe in 1990... The car theft is NOT a problem ! The danger that your car can be stolen is the SAME as in Western Europe ! You must be mad really... I can partly agree with you when considering road fatalities. But the situation's improving promptly.