I don't date women just so I can get laid. That's what escorts are for. If I go out on a date with a woman, I'm looking for long-term potential. Third date rule may seem shallow, but if things aren't at least moving in that direction by the third date, I assume that she isn't very interested in sex, either with me or in general. So the car matters, because if we get serious, her car problems will become my problems. I don't see how a woman could be happy dating a guy who is indifferent and unhelpful to her problems, especially if that guy has a lot of disposable income.
For what it's worth, I'm not a rich guy, but in a typical month, I only spend about half of my take-home pay. I'm usually trying to save for something. Emergencies. The down payment on the house I'm buying later this year. My current job is great, but I expect to lose this job in roughly two-three years when our current investors sell the company, so I want some extra money then in case my job search takes a while. And if I really care about a woman and she can't get to work without her car, yeah, I'm going to help her.
So if I'm thinking about a first date with a woman who is driving a 23 year-old car (that was the example at the start of this thread), I'm going to be less interested because she looks like a potential financial disaster. Why can't she afford a newer car? Is she lazy? Is she irresponsible? Does she have gigantic student loan debt? It's a warning sign that shouldn't be ignored.