That isn't as crazy as it may seem. My main audio source well after graduation which was 2005, was a portable cd player that could play cd's burned with compressed mp3 libraries and connected to the car's stereo system via aux to cassette adapter.
Idk about the portable cd player with mp3 library being common but most blunt cruises in those days were done in vehicles using portable cd player with cassette adapter. I know this is super anecdotal and specifically about the car owner class that isn't buying new Lexus' but I still wanted to point out the cassette deck saw extended use long after people stopped listening to actual cassettes.
My 2006 RX factory radio unit had cassette and cd decks. Sometime around 2012, I remember feeling like I had unlocked a secret backdoor because an audiobook that I wanted from the library had a crazy long waitlist for the cd edition. I hadnt used cassettes in decades, but somehow I had the idea to check to see if they offered that audiobook on cassette. They did! And it was available to check out immediately!
I replaced the radio in that car shortly after that because I needed a bluetooth connection and handsfree capability.