Automobile ownership happens to be discouraged in Denmark. Naturally, people bicycle in a nation in which it is essentially illegal to own a car. http://www.google.com/search?q=denmark+car+tax
Ok, there is a 180% tax on cars. 15k Honda fit = 42,000$ (ouch), but that just makes the used car market more valuable. I had a working old Volvo that was worth ~1k and needed 1-2k of work done per year to keep on the road. So buying one of those would have cost 2.8k with 1.8k of that in tax so it's not exactly making car's illegal and keeping it on the road cost is only 200$ / month. You just need to find the loophole.
