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.
Bubblesitter[/quote]
There’s not need to suspect. Just look at how these luxuries are marketed all the time. Never listed in advertisements as “Car X, great price, $75,000″…It’s always “affordable monthly payments $1800/mon, $3000 due on signing”…
Back in the 90ies this strategy was only for the really higher end trim vehicles. But now, it’s even more prevalent in what I would have considered entry level luxury like BMW 3 series. And the reason for this is the price of the luxury brand has been significantly inflated. It’s just ridiculous that one could price out a BMW 335 at $50k OTD. 3 series were *suppose* to be entry level luxury..So obviously, now they are marketed as “great value leases”.
And meanwhile BMW introduces something like a 1-series meant to be “affordable”….LOL…
