The governing system in the world at that time was not really universal democracy. It was mostly rule by the rich (who bought those cars) even in places which were ostensibly democratic.
Sure. In most of the Western world, Universal Suffrage came only after World War 1. Till then there were generally barriers of class, race or gender on who could vote.
That's not "rule by the rich". The middle class and even much of the poor still voted. You just had to own land, which isn't exactly a high barrier. The point was voting should be one vote per household, by the head of the family.