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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,665 posts, read 81,437,637 times
Reputation: 57932
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nor'Eastah
I think the OP is not only generalizing here, but seeing what they want to see.
I find NO difference in the cars parked outside of Walmart, and the ones parked outside of Starbucks.
"A man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest" - The Boxer, Simon & Garfunkel
The nearest Walmart to us is in Bellevue, WA and there are two there. On both cases, they share a parking lot with Starbucks, among other stores. This is a city with a median family income of over $100,000 and home price $600k. I see people grab a Starbucks and drink it while shopping at Walmart.
There are few Prius, mostly SUVs, Lexus/Mercedes/BMW and an occasional Tesla or even Ferrari.
You really can't generalize and stereotype income/cars/shopping preference, beyond your own area.
Even people with plenty of money will shop at Walmart to save and keep more of it.
It seems to me the typical poor person's car is a Honda Civic. I see a lot of them and other cars of similar type (small econobox) often in not-so-great shape in the poorer areas of my location.
Poor people typically buy used cars that are more than 5 years old with lots of miles. A $3,000 battery change in a used hybrid a year after you buy it certainly isn't economical despite the fuel savings, and it's probably not something the typical poor person's brother or cousin can fix, unlike the mechanicals of non-hybrids.
The used car market also has a glut of SUVs due to their former owners either trading them for something more fuel efficient, or for a newer SUV. Remember, SUVs became the typical type of car in the US market, so it stands to reason that they are what's available in abundance in the used market.
And since when can you assume that a driver of an Escalade is poor just because you saw it at Walmart or McDonalds?
Maybe people at Trader Joes and Starbucks have decided to buy mini-cars and subcompacts because THEY are the ones who can't afford bigger or more luxurious cars. Ever thought of that? Hell, spending $8 on a cup of coffee a few times per day isn't exactly a mark of frugality. Perhaps they could afford larger vehicles if they stopped pretending to be wealthier than what they are.
What I find ironic is how you (the OP) make the claim that only poor people shop at Wal-Mart and then describe a woman with a Cadillac Escalade in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
Really?
So Escalades are ghetto cars now? Because if that's the case, I must be so poor that even Wal-Mart is above my means - given that I can't afford a $70,000 Escalade.
Oh and LOL @ you griping that the Escalade woman's three kids were sitting in the car arguing with no seat belts on.
Because, uh huh, I'm sure YOUR kids never ever argue and that you frequently wear your seat belt while sitting stationary in a parking lot. Right? I guess you're the family that Ward and June Cleaver watch every night on TV while sighing, "If only OUR family could be like that."
How do you know when a person is poor? Warren Buffet drives an average car, lives in his house he grew up in. Not everybody who has money flashes it around and buys fancy new cars, or homes ,or clothes get real people worry about more important things in life like your own business.
Why not? Have you seen the crash ratings on compact cars these days??!?!?!?!
I drive a Cruze. There have been two cases (here is one in Dallas) of a tractor trailer rolling over and flattening a Chevy Cruze completely. Both instances, the driver walked out with minor injuries.
Sedans are just as safe as SUVs at this point, due to improved materials and less rollover risk. But hey, that's your right. Just pay 2-3 times as much for the vehicle, tires, maintenance, and fuel.
A truck is not an SUV. I need something with a 12K lb tow rating.
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