Data Is Beautiful

The city I'm in is listed (more car ownership) and I'm fairly confident the same reason for all of those higher ownership cities is the same.

Northeastern cities grew before the advent of the car and needed mass transit to function.

No one wanted to sweat their butts off in southern cities, so those only grew after residential air conditioning became more available. This was around the 50's and tracks with when these cities expanded.

Because the predominant mode of transportation at the time was cars, you have cities that were developed that way with the interstate highway program helping.

Lastly, General Motors also put their hand in there to ensure more sales (in multiple cities). There's a good documentary on what they did in Los Angeles. The folks of that city can thank GM every time they waste away on the 405.