Beat: Buying a new car in Denmark

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I need a new car. I have an old Citroën that there's just too many problems with and it's really expensive to get repaired.

So I've been out looking. I ride my bike a lot during the summer so I really only use my car during the winter. But it's still nice to have one.

So I went looking for a cheapish, reliable car that wouldn't lose too much value over the next 3 years. VW Rabbits (or Golfs as they're known over here) seem to fit the bill.

The car in itself isn't horribly expensive. It costs DKK 137,608 or $23,183 at the current exchange rate for a 1,4 liter TSi model with a few add-ons.
But I also have to pay DKK 34,299 ($5,778) in sales tax and a whopping DKK 201,194 ($33,895) to get license plates on it. So the grand total for the car is DKK 373,101 ($62,856).

When you then calculate how much I have to earn to actually pay for the car, the numbers just go crazy. We have a pretty high income tax rate here in Denmark. I pay a bit over 60% income tax on the last $ I make. So basically I have to earn DKK 932,752 or $157,143 to pay for a car that actually costs $23,183. The difference of over $130,000 goes to the state in the form of income tax, sales tax and the price of the license plates.

And when I finally get my car I get to fill it with gas that costs around $10 a gallon.

So my question is: If I lived in the US, how much would I pay in income tax on $157,143 and what kind of car could I get for what I had after income tax?