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How? When "old school" was the norm, nobody heard of an SUV? There is nothing on the road anymore that is remotely like the Fleetwood.
SUV's are glorified station wagons.
The last big wagons were the Caprice and Roadmaster... they were big, heavy and had frames. And they were the Fleetwood's cousin.
Escalade is the spiritual successor to that big BOF wagon you can't buy anymore.
Lost that a long time ago. Where I live winter utility is worth way more. Subaru's are great.
Besides the durability of most cars has improved dramatically, and even economy cars can be ordered or obtained used with more luxuries that existed in luxury cars 15 years ago. Electric windows used to be a luxury feature, now its hard to find any car without them. ABS used to be a luxury, but now every car has ABS and traction control.
I had a luxury ford focus from 2003---leather heated seats, full stereo with 6 disk player: the works.
What you are saying has actually always been that way. And it goes for everything. Appliances, cars, watches, electronics, apparel, bicycles, even houses. The entry level is entry level. But the same law of diminishing returns even applies to cars like the Civic. Does $10,000 make a $18,740 car into a $40,000 car? Or, does it make it into a $18,740 car with $10,000 worth of stuff lumped on top? What does "pseudo economy luxury car" even mean? Is it pseudo economy or pseudo luxury? Both? Neither? Jack of all trades?
The so-called "poverty pack" luxury cars are just entry level cars for a higher line of cars. This has always been the case. The entry level Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc., have always been spartan in comparison with each brand's respective lineup. And, despite being the "poverty pack", they still cost more than a lot of people can afford, which gives them some degree of exclusivity.
Another thing is, features always trickle down, first to lower luxury cars, then to non-luxury cars. This takes years. What you are going to see on the new Lexus LS 500 will probably be available on econoboxes in 10 years, and it will wow people because the entry level luxury vehicles in 10 years won't even have that. Today's entry level luxury interiors will be replaced by something much better in a few years anyway. But they'll never rival what the latest flagship releases offer.
For me, what it really comes down to, is that a Civic is a freshly designed, 1.5L, front wheel drive, CVT-equipped $18,740 appliance with $10,000 worth of "stuff" that more expensive cars have, making it a very nicely appointed people mover. And that's great, for buyers who are looking for a nicely appointed people mover.
Last edited by 43north87west; 10-06-2016 at 12:00 PM..
Reason: removed quoted parts and video
I buy a car for what it is. The badge informs me of what I might expect from it, be it a Honda badge, a Toyota badge or a BMW badge.
While I bought my BMW used, the badge means that it was designed as a driver's car first, luxury car second. I know it was designed to make the driver smile due to it's agility, ability, and then features and style. Economy cars tend not to have the balanced, RWD chassis dynamics that make owning a RWD sport sedan such a joy. And few cars combine all aspects of ability, agility, features and style as the cars of certain brands, which are designed to do those things. In that regard, yes, the badge matters, because it has an engineering meaning behind it.
Yes, you can add features, like heated seats, nav, nice stereos, backup cameras, leather, etc to an economy car and get a reasonably competent daily driver that's a nice place to sit, but the luxury brands have them first, and tend to have a better balance of features, solidity, and chassis dynamics, even in their entry level models.
We discussed this in another thread, and it's been talked about on enthusiast forums many times. Cars like an entry level BMW 320i with the Sport pack and manual trans are excellent driver's cars that give a level of RWD chassis dynamics and agility that dressed up economy cars and most midsize family sedans can't match. The extra money goes into suspension, brakes, and overall chassis balance, and less into features and luxury content, though you can option those things into it, too.
For cars like BMWs and Mercedes, the badge MEANT a certain level of engineering prowess, which cost more to deliver more. Because they cost more, they became status symbols, with people buying them simply because they cost more. Which became a vicious cycle of the badge meaning something, and people buying them due to that meaning, but due to the snob factor of them costing more, it was perceived that the badge was the ONLY reason they were bought, and that the cars were nothing more than cynical exercises in conspicuous consumption. And now there's a backlash against them by people that think the ONLY reason someone would buy them is because of a meaningless badge just to try to be snobby. While that may be true for a certain segment of the population, it's not always or even usually true, and definitely not on the part of the manufacturer (at least until the first FWD BMW came out... )
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I don't care about the badge, in fact two of ours are Fords, the other a Dodge. The latter is a Challenger, and I bought because I love the retro look, power, and it's just way fun to drive. I would not call it luxurious by any means, and it was not particularly expensive. I still get people commenting on it all the time, but if anything it's a bit annoying, I didn't buy it for that, and am not interested in impressing anyone.
Those who have never driven/owned a luxury or high end vehicle don't know what they are missing, and just assume that people who own them are buying them for the badge status.
my officemate drove a porche, totaled it and now drive a lexus. doesn't earn more than 50k and just rents a room. never travels outside the city he lives in. you never know that hes just renting a room if you see him.
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