Yeah I think a lot of people have it as a bad habit that they just without really thinking about it and weighing the alternatives buy a car and drive very short distances with it because you already have it, then why walk if you quickly can just drive the kids to the Kindergarten or getting cigarettes in the convenience shop, etc.

The habit is that you don't stop and think about alternatives to buying a car. For me it kind of was a bit like that, there was a good opportunity to buy a car, I had the money, and even though I didn't need the car I got it and did all the short trips by car. Now even if my partner asks if we should get a second car for me (she is taking it to work every day) so I can bring the kids to school and Kindergarten by car I am conscious about my decision and say that this is not necessary, specifically because otherwise I would need to spent time walking without a goal to get my 10k steps every day. It's much more fun if you do it to meet your kids ;)

In the U.S. it is. The last car I bought there the guy said 'yeah, it's fine, gets good mileage, I want something newer'.

After I had it a few years a couple friends said 'why don't you buy a new car? You can afford it'.

But that's the same for a lot of things. If something works I keep it, I don't care about having a 'new' one because it's new. Many people do though.

I think having a car enables bad habits.

I can walk/bus to work in 35 minutes, but I can drive there in 10.

Do I really need to take the car? No.

Do I still do it almost half of the time? Yes.

Why? Because it's just slightly more convenient, and some days that's enough.