Do people not buy cars based on cost? The list of additional taxes, fees, surcharges, etc., etc., on the average car purchase is as long as my arm, and the average car costs more than 10 trips to Europe.
I'll indulge in your example for argument sake, however invalid as it may be.
1. if you want to buy an airfare through the same time consuming search process as buying a car, then that makes 1 of us. I don't fancy spending days "visiting" OTAs or human travel agents just to buy 1 airfare.
2. if you look at any site giving advice on buying car, one of the top tips is usually only negotiate on out the door pricing (if you didn't know this, this tip for you is free)
3. again, don't know about you. but i've not had too many experiences buying cars, because an average person buy 1 car anywhere from 3 / 5 / 10 / or 15 years!. on the other hand, a leisure flier could be flying 2-5 times a year, up to the road warriors and warriorettes flying every other week. wouldn't you want a simple process?
on the matter of high/rising taxes, if that's the issue, let the airline fight with congress on lowering taxes, or compete on price & product. don't play games with consumers.