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?