Drive-in banks were established so most of the cars today could see their real owners.

Cossman’s quip satirizes consumer culture and debt-financed status symbols. The joke hinges on the idea that many automobiles are not truly “owned” by the drivers but by the lender holding the lien; a drive-in bank becomes a stage where that hidden relationship is revealed. Beyond cars, the line points to a broader modern condition in which possessions can function as rented identities—objects that signal success while simultaneously binding their users to ongoing payments. The humor is barbed: convenience (drive-in banking) is recast as a reminder of financial dependence and the thin line between ownership and obligation.