When you get out to the country side, you have bikes, walking, horses and public transportation. There are some cars and pickup trucks etc, some of them new. However, they are pretty rare. Old vehicles are a bit more common, but the cost of fuel and upkeep tends to reduce the numbers. Motorcycles are very common - more like dirt bikes.
The main roads are actually pretty good, but you get off them pretty quick once you aren't heading to a decent size town.
A bike is about 100 to 200 dollars - very basic. It will be either a cruiser for in town, or a mountain bike for off the road. There are BMX bikes too.
Helmets for bikes are almost never seen. After all, a helmet is the same price as a bike just about. Besides, they don't go very fast.
I think people do want to have a car here as a status symbol, but there aren't that many of them - and they usually have to sell it. Of course the Gringos have infected people (I am a Gringo too!) with the idea of having a car. But, many Gringos who come here choose instead to walk or take public transportation, which is cheap and very available - even to the dirt roads.