You know, this pleasure is highly dependent on
locale. If you're living in a city like
Portland or
New York where
public transit is cheap and effective, there may be pleasure in not owning a car. (I still question the pleasure in not being able to
leave the city without begging someone for a ride, but whatever.)
Now on the other hand, if you live in say... Los Angeles... not having a car puts you into the crippled designation. People will mock you or worse, feel sorry for you. Lepers will look down upon you. Maybe there's a bus that goes that way at the right time and maybe there won't be an overfriendly psycho on it (only nutjobs and art students ride the bus in LA), but that's not the point. Don't even ask about the Los Angeles subway system, please. You need a car to get anywhere here. It's a simple fact.
The pleasure of not having a car in Los Angeles is like the pleasure of having a hole drilled in your head without anaesthetic.
And all you trepanation and squicking enthusiasts can just shut the hell up, okay?