I got an Elantra (and I have a snow covered commute that many people say "needs" a 4WD)- but it has a lot of safety features my 2001 Civic didn't have (I got that car new too- but unlike many, I plan to keep my cars for a long time). I do think I also want to buy snow tires, as the handling this morning (we got 7 inches overnight and the roads were plowed but not great) wasn't fabulous... I also negotiated pretty heavily on the car, and I think the biggest thing is I wasn't set on any one model, since I was completely willing to walk away, I got the price I wanted. (At one point, he came in $600 more than what I said was my rock bottom. He said "I think we're really close- are you ready to buy this?" I told him "If we're close enough that you think I should compromise, why don't you just compromise and go to the price I want." Took a 5th trip back to the stupid sales manager (is that a real person, or do they just hide in a room for a few minutes?), and I got my price. I think a lot of people would just think "hey, what's $600?" The only thing I'm pissed about is they added a few stupid things like wheel locks and a first aid kit to up the MSRP, but since I decided my price without those things, I probably did okay, but maybe without them I could have gotten a bit lower, I don't know. Who the hell needs wheel locks? Those things break off in a second if someone really wanted the wheels.
The one problem with safety ratings of cars is that they are only judged against cars of similar size. I really liked the Honda Fit, but I kept thinking what would happen to the backseat occupants if an Expedition rammed into it. So I went with a slightly bigger car (though I still can't bring myself to drive something bigger than a compact.)
I guess my thought on why it is on facebook though is people show what they are excited about. I actually see my frugal (though I doubt they have good savings, it's more false frugality, for many of them; they'll be back to their $32 mascara posts shortly) post about how they made rice and beans and have their lunches for a week for only $3 or something like that.