Interesting definition. So if I buy drugs I am drug free on the days I don’t use them even if I have them? Coal is a green fuel on hot days when it isn’t being used? In other words everyone is car free while they are sleeping? Words have a meaning or they don’t and trying to change the meaning makes the definition of a word meaningless.
As the phrase "car free" has yet to be accepted in common usage and doesn't possess a concise English dictionary definition, defining it individually is pretty much the default position. Eventually it will either become part of the vernacular, along with an accepted definition, or drop out of use. In my own mind, I consider myself car free because I don't own a car, although I will use taxis, buses, and accept rides as determined by need. I also consider myself drug free even though I own a bottle of aspirin. Personally, I would like to be known by what I am, do, or own rather then what I am not, do not or don't posses; in this sense I think the phrase "car free" has a slightly negative connotation. I argue for bicycles, bicycle safety, and public transportation rather then being an opponent of motor vehicle use. In conversation I describe myself as a bicyclist, cyclist, or if I want the conversation to go a certain direction, a wheel man rather then being car free.
Googling "define:car free" comes up with the Portuguese language version of Wikipedia which defines "car free" as "an international movement that advocates the revitalization of the cities, searching to guarantee a sustainable future." If we accept this definition (the only one Google provided), then there are few of us who could legitimately call themselves car free or part of the car free movement. I bicycle because I love bicycling, it is one of the great passions of my life. I'm "car free" because I live by myself in a relatively dense metropolitan area serviced by a very good public transportation system. My motives for not owning a car are practical and economic. Possessing one would create difficulties greatly out of proportion to its advantages as a mode of transportation. I don't have a safe place to park a car, it would cost me thousands of dollars annually in maintenance, fuel and fees, and having one does not offer a significant advantage in time or effort when I travel from one location to another. Helping to revitalize cities and build a sustainable future are great ideas, but for me they are an inherent side effect of doing something I love and not causes I advocate.