In a speech about ageing in modern Britain he said "family cohesiveness has been destroyed as a result" of young people moving away from home.
He argued that more people having cars meant they lived some distance from their relatives, in contrasts to a time in the past when families lived close.
Speaking about his time growing up Lord Carey is quoted by the Telegraph as saying: "Life revolved around the older generation with my mother's mother as the matriarch at the centre of the family.
"Now perhaps there still exists that pattern of family life in some parts of northern England and maybe in some of the newer communities, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, that are springing up around us.
"But in the main strong community life has been hollowed out by the car, by younger people seeking work elsewhere, by job opportunities and so on.
"Family cohesiveness has been destroyed as a result."
But on Premier's News Hour Trevor Single from the Family Matters Institute argued the car had improved life: "Young people and others are seeking employment that may take them away from that family unit and that may well be to their benefit.
"What we have to look at is how can we still maintain that positive family bond across the whole of that family."
He added: "Sometimes living at a distance may actually make you think and engage more within your family unit than maybe when they are just around the corner or in the next street".
Trevor Single speaking to Premier's Aaron James:
