Based on your previous posts, I suspect you may actually be the one “degrading” the luxury brand image. 🙂
I suspect that there is a relatively high percentage of people in the SoCal area that really can’t afford their car. Perhaps it is their ego, or a sense of entitlement. I suspect that many are ones that lived large during the bubble and are now trying to avoid the repo man. Alot of people are fully bought into the car culture saying “you are what you drive” and wouldn’t be caught dead in a “practical” car.