Well, I'm car light, not car free, but I'd say my situation just sort of evolved as I became more and more enthralled with cycling. A little over five years ago I committed to commuting to work by bike and I found that once I started, I didn't want to stop. Each year I started using the bike for more and more transportation and recreation.
Then, a year ago I added a bike well suited to touring/shopping/running errands. Now, I ride almost everywhere: I let the insurance on my truck lapse because I had zero interest in driving. I have occasionally renewed it short term to do some hauling that I couldn't do on the bike, but mostly it sits there in my driveway.
Basically, I can do almost everything I need to do on a bike or with public transit. I'm not ready to go completely car free, but that time may come.