The price of cars has gone up, it is true.

[Aussie105]

My 2016 SUV cost me AU $27K, today the equivalent car is AU $40K. A 50% price increase.
More due to inflation over 9 years rather than added safety features, I'd guess.

But historically car prices have held level ground for years, then did a big jump up.
So it isn't a linear progression.

Decades ago I aimed to save $3K for a new car.
By the time I had that, after one year of saving, the price had doubled to $6K.

Cruz needs to go and study historical numbers on car prices.

And blaming safety features for price rises is just too simplistic.