Hey man no one wants it as is now. Public transport with personal space is totally possible. As it is, it's engineered to be cheap and space efficient for maximum passengers in minimum space, to maximise revenue. It doesn't have to be that way!

some people shit on cars, as though being in your own space / smell / music isn’t infinitely better than being packed in with a bunch of people.

That's obviously not the reason people dislike cars. Mostly, they suck for everyone outside cars. Secondly, they suck for everyone, since they are a wasteful use of limited resources, including carbon budgets.

The second argument can also be made about pods on rails; it's much more inefficient than regular trains.

I get your point ("public transit that mimics private cars would absolutely be a game changer") and agree to it. The question is how much is that worth. Are we willing to pay the opportunity cost?