RAK's recurrent ruminations on cars, chicks and courtship

So you justify your comments by the even worse comments of others? Yes, there can plenty of swearing and rudeness in these car newsgroups but that doesn't mean you have to add to it.

Your piffle below does not merit any detailed reply (a shame, since you started the thread quite interestingly). I have to remind (inform) you that the Merc C-Class is a top-selling vehicle in Germany (no. 2 or 3) and therefore driven by a cross-section of the car-driving population. Similar applies to BMW 3. These cars are all a dime a dozen where I live in London. Even Saab (GM) tried the 'exclusivity in the company car park' angle but where I live the 'rare' cabrios are often seen. Probably because they are cheaper than the nearest BMW and Merc equivalents.

At one stage the average age of the BMW driver was a bit lower than than of the Merc driver but I suggest that had more to do with the higher prices of the Merc entry models. This changed with the 190 / C-Class and now the A-Class.

BMW was very clever in marketing the two-door cars as something special and charging more for them, something that others have copied.

Neither Merc nor BMW have any exclusivity whatsoever unless one has the very big engines or the big bodies. However, as you may know, big cars (and big-engined) ones depreciate much more rapidly that smaller ones, so it is possible to buy a used E-Class or BMW 5 for a reasonable price. Just a decision on insurance and running costs has to be made.

Audi has managed to acquire a great image in the UK a long time ago whereas in Germany it was for years still just a jumped-up Volkswagen. However, product quality has apparently risen so far that Audi deserves to be spoken of in the same breath as Merc and BMW. Personally I find the shape boring, even if the A8 is imposing, but that is just a personal opinion.

Maybe you buy the ads. Ultimate Driving Machine. Vorsprung durch Technik (Audi). Fine. Buy a subscription for the house publications.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Reply to
Dori A Schmetterling
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model, successor went in production lately new model here
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Juergen

Reply to
Juergen .

Yeah, but he's probably not wrong. It's just not in the right newsgroup.

Reply to
Richard Sexton

A lot of what you said actually jives with my original post, namely when a commodity becomes common enough and readily accessible enough across wide segments of society, it will no longer be valued. The key to prestige and the establishment of hierarchy is, I think, defined by what your neighbors cannot have - the handicap principle that I have quoted in my original post. It's part and parcel with a not so rosy but realistic view of human nature, where genie asks farmer 'I can grant you one wish, but everyone else in your village will have twice of what you have.' Farmer thinks for a minute and wishes half his crops destroyed. You're therefore very correct about the fact that BMWs and Mercedes are so common in Europe and I concur that they are no longer prestige vehicles. The removal of engine designations in Europe and the availability of 2nd hand cars, 3rd hand cars etc - further adds noise to the signal - did the guy pay half price for that? Is he merely a poseur? I say guy for a reason - women are motivated by different factors and cars which are most desired by men are quite different from cars which are most desired by women.

With respect models available, to maintain the 'prestige' of these brands, you'll notice that a lot of the lower models that are available in Europe are not available in North America. The E200, E240, E280 of Mercedes, for instance - quite common for taxicabs in Germany - are not available in the US and Canada I believe. Likewise with the lower

3-series models like 318, 320 etc - again assuming that these are the correct designations. This again ties in with my original post about prestige and reputation - lower classes of automobiles may lead to a loss of prestige and the tarnishing of reputation of some of these brands that their respective companies are obviously trying to preserve

- and marketing strategy is therefore different. Toyota has to do the same by inventing a new brand - AFAIK in Japan there is no 'Lexus', and it's only marketed as such in North America to give that aura of luxury and sophistication to lure buyers. People at the higher end of the auto market don't buy cars for practicality or even for fun - the psychological element of the handicap principle and of conspicuous consumption probably plays an increasing role.

Why cars? As discussed, because cars need to be show pieces to a certain extent - in affluent North American societies most people can afford a car - any car - and thus they lose their discriminating value of the financial health of the driver. Still, why cars? You touched on this: depreciation - and contrary to some who deride people purchasing expensive cars that depreciate quickly, lambasting them as impractical etc, it is *precisely* this fact that drive some (young guys especially) to purchase them. Even poor people may pay a huge mortgage in order to upgrade from a house to a mansion - because (1) it's an investment, so it makes financial sense in the long run, and (2) it's practical, because you reside in your residence many hours a day. But poor people will not purchase very expensive cars because they are not an investment, do not make financial sense in the long run, are not practical, and many people do not spend hours and hours in their cars. These two qualities - *depreciation* and *impracticality* - fit with the handicap principle perfectly. Expensive cars scream out: "look how much I have, and how much I can afford to waste." Only truly "financially healthy" people would be able to afford such "guady men's jewellery" - an indicator of hierarchy and status in a man's world, and a sign of financial health and mating suitability in a woman's world.

And cars' modus operandi fit the above psychology so perfectly: they're a very *visual* and *conspicuous* demonstration for all to see - like the deer antlers discussed initially. But most importantly - it's

*portable* unlike real estate - flash> So you justify your comments by the even worse comments of others? Yes,
Reply to
RichAsianKid

Good, back on track of polite ruminations... ;-)

- The farmer's wish indeed shows the dark side of human nature. Also why Coomunist apparatchiks were happy with their relatively poor lot because they were better off than most of the populace. The sensible wish is to ask for an infinite number of wishes.

- About brand reflection, the opposite is possible. E.g. Mercedes used the 'prestige' and technical advance of its top models to reflect on its mundane ones. BMW is not much different. A large chunk of its sales (40%?) is the

3 Series, and I bet most of those are around the 2-litre engine mark.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Reply to
Dori A Schmetterling

Good answer!

Do BMW drivers in general buy higher models of a lower class, vs Mercedes drivers who buy lower models of a higher class? Not sure! North Americans do not get 2 liter BMW/Mercedes models.

In Germany a taxicab driver in his 50s told me: porsche > mercedes >

bmw > audi in terms of 'respect' locally. Who knows. See, maybe it's defined by best. Porsche has the GT, Mercedes the SLR. (Is GT > SLR?) BMW has/had the McLaren?

Reply to
RichAsianKid

and the funny thing is they are still doing reviews of the old version that is no longer in production.....

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The S class would not fit but a couple of Smarts would fit.

The boyz would be very happy, but you would have to throw a nice leather couch or two in the back.

You could probably get a dozen Asian girls back there too.

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Reply to
greek_philosophizer

and I forgot to add that the one in the picture is only the middle size van, the old model has a longer version and the new model has an even longer version so there would be plenty of room to keep very large containers cold....

The annoying thing is if you do not want a white one you have to special order it and that takes months.

.
Reply to
greek_philosophizer

Juergen, what's the differenece between the Dodge Sprinter and the Benz version? We have MANY here in Vancouver, some of them are Mercedes branded. I figure they had to sell it here as a Dodge or all the Dodge Ram van driving yahoos wouldn't buy a benz.

cp

Reply to
cp

I just shake my head at those clowns who don't capitalize and who leave a 212-line-long post for a 4-line comment.

Reply to
dizzy

it's a casual conversation, dumbass....forgive me if i don't punctualize my sentences correct, mr. english teacher

Reply to
Lawrence Lugar

Hey top poster,

Dumb ass is two words and "I" and "English" should be capitalized, also it should be "punctuate" and "correctly".

Reply to
Martin Joseph

...i rest my case. good god, are porsche guys usually this bitchy about proper punctuation - it's a f'n casual newgroup, not a damn official press release.

Reply to
Lawrence Lugar

'jibes'

Kid, as a longtime Audi & BMW driver, I can tell you; if you're just tryin' to get 'respect' or get laid by using your car, I got three little words for ya:

Jag You Are.

-- C.R. Krieger (Has one of them, too)

Reply to
E28 Guy©

CR, you're too kind.

Reply to
yaofeng

thx, I'm true romantic spanish at heart, like you know can't tell a 'b' from a 'v' ;)

Rebellion against parents knows no bounds....

Reply to
BimmerBoy

Reply to
RichAsianKid

Methinks he's a Merc man.

No, us Porsche guys don't give a rip how you spell or where you punctuate, if at all.

DS

95 993 Coupe
Reply to
The Dead Senator

I don't "care" but I'll judge people by it. Being an idiot is your choice.

A typo here or there is > No, us Porsche guys don't give a rip how you spell or where you > punctuate, if at all.

>
Reply to
someone

I do not disagree too awfully much with you, but don't forget that Usenet spans many countries that do not use English as a primary language. With that in mind, I'll not be too critical of grammar skills. As you say, I may make a mental note of it, but I'll read past them. If the poster is truly stupid, it will show in other ways. If I attempted to post in Italian, French or Spanish, my spelling and punctuation skills would guarantee me to look like an id10t.

I appreciate other folks posting in whatever form of English so that I may enjoy their comments.

Reply to
The Dead Senator

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