Modern car scene? I'm a grown-*ss adult and use my grownup cars for grownup purposes. When I was in high school the lot was full of stock Civics and Volvos. There was a dude with a '78 or '79 Malibu that was cool, a Datsun 620 mini truck, a '56 Ford pickup driven by a rich owner's son, and my '35 Ford. We didn't call it income inequality, we were just broke-*ss teenagers. My dad and uncle described the same thing in the late 60s. Almost nobody gets to throw real money at cars until after school and they get a little disposable income. My 18 y/o nephew and his dipshit buddies are in the same boat. They dabble when they can afford it.
Now, I have some toys. But my priorities are mostly focused elsewhere. My wish list is shorter and I'm better at focusing.