Really good discussion. Some thoughts that I don't think have been brought up.
When indulging in hedonic purchases, keep in mind there is always an opportunity cost. Money not spent on a fancy car can be spent in other ways, including making the world a better place. It can be reinvested in your community, helping someone get ahead in life, protecting an environmentally sensitive place, etc. Sure, this is an individual's money, and they have the right to do with it as they please, but everything I've read and experienced suggests that being part of something larger than yourself and contributing to the overall good brings more benefits to oneself than indulging, once your needs are fulfilled.
The other point that someone raised is why is spending money on vacations OK to many mustachians, but someone buying a fancy car "face-punched"? I think there's real-world evidence to back up this discrepancy. I've read many places that spending money on experiences to create memories does in fact create long-lasting happiness, as we can revisit and treasure these experiences, whereas buying a new fancy item only provides a short-term bump, and happiness quickly reverts to a person's natural baseline.
Also, people are terrible at predicting what will bring them happiness. Also, things that make us unhappy have a much greater impact on our happiness level than things that actively make us happy - apparently the ratio is something like 5:1, i.e. losing $1 is the emotional balance of winning $5. So, we'd all be better off by focusing on eliminating that which we know makes us unhappy, as opposed to imagining the happiness that something will bring us. (For many of us here, that unhappiness is our lack of freedom by requiring a job).
I use this as a guide in my own life. For example, I started lusting for an iPhone6 when they were introduced. I didn't buy one though, because I knew it was just consumer lust. Lately, however, my 6 year-old iPhone 4S has been getting in the way of things I've been trying to accomplish - a miniscule battery life that has to be catered to, broken screen and back, slow, and lack of support for newer apps. That, to me, is the sign that it's getting time to replace it.
Another example is my 2005 Toyota Echo. I love that car, but the small quirks had cumulatively really started to annoy me - I could only trickle gas into it, muffler noise, many small controls were broken, etc. I was getting pretty frustrated, and been dreaming about getting a replacement. Then, I had the good fortune of being able to steal some used parts off one that was being junked, so for $600 (including labour - I detest working on cars), I had all of my irritants removed, and I'm loving it like I bought a new one (well, almost ;) ).
The thing that introduces some gray into it for me, though, is that everyone truly has different hobbies and passions. I have bought expensive camping gear because to me, it makes the difference between a massively enjoyable experience, and one that's frustrating if everything isn't perfect. I truly derive joy from the amazing design and engineering that has been put into the gear I've bought, every time I use it, and it makes me want to do more camping. Also, camping serves as a reminder to me as to how little material items I really need to be happy, and a hedonic level "reset" button. That may or may not be valid rationalizing for the gear I've bought to most people, but I feel it is for me.
Also, it's important to keep in mind that technology and material possessions have indeed clearly improved the quality of life and happiness for people. Once water could be boiled in a metal pot, or one could bicycle instead of walking everywhere, or sleep in a nice safe, comfortable bed every night, there's no looking back! Sorting out what those core items are though, can be a real challenge.
So regarding the original question, I'm sure that there are a few people out there for whom cars are a true passion, and they enjoy spending time with their car, the experience of driving it and "caring" for it, and wistfully relive the time they've spent with the car even when they aren't in it. I think that number is actually pretty small, though, and I certainly didn't get the impression from reading OP's initial post that he was one of those people. So IMO the facepunches were certainly appropriate, especially considering how monstrously horrible cars are for the earth and people's health overall.