If I may add to an interesting and insightful post, I would comment that the next step from car camping would be to venture into overnight trips and backpacking, where you face definite weight constraints. Realistically, for most normal mortals, forty pounds is the heaviest weight one can manage well. Living safely and comfortably, as well as maintaining mobility, within that constraint is both a physical and mental challenge.

The advantage is that you have several options in an emergency situation that are not workable for the non-backpacker. And you will be in better physical condition. You also get to visit some pretty nice places that the general public never views.

Backpacking gets down to the real fundamentals, and you develop a sense of what you, individually, find indispensable and what is superfluous.