Cars absolutely are a part of emergency kit. When you need to pack up and leave home to get to a shelter or rally point, your car is the first option. It might not be the BEST option (due to all the other people in their cars doing the same thing at the same time) but that's a different issue.
Expecting that everyone have a hand-cranked anything on hand is ludicrous. Everyone in the US has access to a car (usually), which is why putting AM radios in them assures that people will actually have radio access in time of need.