[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

Wow... Is this really even a thread? And 4 pages no less?




What do people think when they see a BMW? Or any other car on the road?

I never could get into Fanboy.

We are a bunch of bored trolls mate.

[Samurai of 2day]

Originally Posted by TXSTYLE

Wow... Is this really even a thread? And 4 pages no less?




What do people think when they see a BMW? Or any other car on the road?

I never could get into Fanboy.

Thanks for reminding me that I enjoyed this movie on a Haji bootleg DVD overseas over a decade ago.

Now I will have to watch it again tonight when I had other things to do.

[TXSTYLE]

Originally Posted by Samurai of 2day

Thanks for reminding me that I enjoyed this movie on a Haji bootleg DVD overseas over a decade ago.

Now I will have to watch it again tonight when I had other things to do.

Speaking of Will... Check out his upcoming Netflix only SciFi film coming later this year.

[The Chaddening]

AT

[EL Jeffe 5]

Older gentleman or Housewife

[Eau_Rouge111]

The heart of a Pagani...Mercedes V12 goodness!

[stooker]

In response to the OP, depends on the specific car and who's driving it. An older person driving a run of the mill MB, I think good for them, they've seemingly led a successful life and want something comfortable to drive around in their later years. When I see a younger person in a run of the mill MB, I think they just want the status symbol.

Originally Posted by NemesisX

Among Asian American circles in the united states, car prestige is in part a function of how much restraint one shows in purchasing a luxury vehicle. Many affluent 1st generation Asians living in the U.S. almost make a contest out of showing who can be the most frugal.

I found this very true for the 1st gen successful Asians... the stereotypical doctors and engineers who came to the US in the 70s/80s that pushed their kids to master violin and piano by age 6 and accept nothing less than ivy league schools. I grew up around a lot of them. They bought quality cars on the merits of overall value and reliability. They drove Camrys and Accords in the 90s, or simply kept driving around in that Volvo they got in the early 80s with 300K miles on the odometer. As time went on, I saw a number of them venture into the German brands in the late 90s/early 2000s, but were quickly turned off by poor reliability and switched over to the Japanese luxury marques.

[Maynard]

OK, gotta post this, and this seems like the best place. Vindication that when it comes to brands, BMW is still king over MB. Last night I'm killing time with Family Feud when they run this:
We asked 100 single women, When your date drives up, what kind of a car do you hope they drive? and the #1 answer is BMW. Even I was thinking it would be MB or some other richeymobile, so nice to see the brand still ranking with such a key demographic.

[NemesisX]

Originally Posted by Maynard

OK, gotta post this, and this seems like the best place. Vindication that when it comes to brands, BMW is still king over MB. Last night I'm killing time with Family Feud when they run this:
We asked 100 single women, When your date drives up, what kind of a car do you hope they drive? and the #1 answer is BMW. Even I was thinking it would be MB or some other richeymobile, so nice to see the brand still ranking with such a key demographic.

Good to know BMW does well among the ladies! I'm sure age factors in as well.

The luxury brand institute does surveys on brand prestige every year, and if you ask families in the U.S. who are on the higher end of upper middle class (median household income $350k/year, median household net worth $3.7M, median age of respondents 50-55), they'll typically rank the "prestige" of car brands as follows:

1. Porsche
2. Mercedes
3/4. Lexus/BMW

Porsche still reigns king among this demographic and Mercedes almost invariably holds the number 2 spot. Lexus and BMW switch spots with each other from year to year among this demographic. Audi is always in the 5-6 range despite the perception one might get from car enthusiast forums where all of the luxury german brands are considered superior to the luxury japanese brands like Lexus.

Exotic brands like Ferrari, Lamborghini are never considered possibly because these cars are financially out of reach for people in this income/net worth bracket. I doubt anyone would ever say a brand new Porsche is "more prestigious" than a brand new Ferrari.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by Dj Johnny

Mercedes made a big mistake when they dumped their 5 year 50 mile warranty. Customers went rushing over to BMW in the US

What is the Mercedes warranty now? I presumed Mercedes and BMW had the same.

[Lups]

Originally Posted by Needbmwpartzz

Saggy airbags

/end thread.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by NemesisX

Good to know BMW does well among the ladies! I'm sure age factors in as well.

The luxury brand institute does surveys on brand prestige every year, and if you ask families in the U.S. who are on the higher end of upper middle class (median household income $350k/year, median household net worth $3.7M, median age of respondents 50-55), they'll typically rank the "prestige" of car brands as follows:

1. Porsche
2. Mercedes
3/4. Lexus/BMW

Porsche still reigns king among this demographic and Mercedes almost invariably holds the number 2 spot. Lexus and BMW switch spots with each other from year to year among this demographic. Audi is always in the 5-6 range despite the perception one might get from car enthusiast forums where all of the luxury german brands are considered superior to the luxury japanese brands like Lexus.

Exotic brands like Ferrari, Lamborghini are never considered possibly because these cars are financially out of reach for people in this income/net worth bracket. I doubt anyone would ever say a brand new Porsche is "more prestigious" than a brand new Ferrari.

upper middle class is 350k lmao?

that is close to the 1%... math doesnt add up

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by Maynard

OK, gotta post this, and this seems like the best place. Vindication that when it comes to brands, BMW is still king over MB. Last night I'm killing time with Family Feud when they run this:
We asked 100 single women, When your date drives up, what kind of a car do you hope they drive? and the #1 answer is BMW. Even I was thinking it would be MB or some other richeymobile, so nice to see the brand still ranking with such a key demographic.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by ASAP

upper middle class is 350k lmao?

that is close to the 1%... math doesnt add up

Funny... I think that has a lot to do with the area in which you live. I would consider >$350k upper middle class and >$500k upper class.

Looking at the upper class wiki it's only like >$100k for upper middle class. That's considered just okay here in Los Angeles and I would struggle to survive on that here. I think my perspective is a bit fked because of all the rich folk around LA.

[PoorLurker]

Originally Posted by jmg

Funny... I think that has a lot to do with the area in which you live. I would consider >$350k upper middle class and >$500k upper class.

Looking at the upper class wiki it's only like >$100k for upper middle class. That's considered just okay here in Los Angeles and I would struggle to survive on that here. I think my perspective is a bit fked because of all the rich folk around LA.

Always love these types of conversations about trying to define the different classes. Fun to hear many different perspectives

Our perspective is definitely skewed.

I used to think being a doctor immediately put you in upper class. White gloves, philanthropy black tie galas, and the whole nine.

Doctor making $250k in So. Cal is not living all that lavishly. (that's even assuming no student loans) That doctor is probably living next door to a couple of teachers unless he has a wife that works or no student loans.

[Mr Reality]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

What is the Mercedes warranty now? I presumed Mercedes and BMW had the same.

I know I had a 2006 and I was told that Mercedes were ending there maintenance package warranty next year, when my car hit 49,000 I got rid of it then switched to BMW I was told this at a Mercedes California dealership. Maybe Mercedes changed their mind or the guy didn't know what he was talking about I also know I wasn't the only one told this regardless I'm glad I switched

[Maynard]

Unfortunately, my experience is that these are dick magnets (as in idiot types, not the gay friendly type) more than chick magnets, but I'm not really in the market so I might be missing it.

[NemesisX]

Originally Posted by ASAP

upper middle class is 350k lmao?

that is close to the 1%... math doesnt add up

Ultimately it's pretty random how you define class. The only reason I include that income bracket within "upper middle class" is because most people who make that kind of income (plus or minus $50k/year) consider themselves to be squarely "upper middle class" (I had the article bookmarked but I can't find it at the moment)

If most of their money is coming in as wage income, they're part of the tax bracket that pays the highest effective tax rate of all income filers in the nation.

And obviously like others have mentioned location matters a lot. $350k/year in the middle of nowhere in Nebraska is very different from $350k/year in Palo Alto or Manhattan.

$350k/year for a single person (upper class?) is very different from $350k/year for someone supporting a wife and a child (upper middle class?) or someone supporting a wife and 2-3 children (upper middle class?).

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by Dj Johnny

I know I had a 2006 and I was told that Mercedes were ending there maintenance package warranty next year, when my car hit 49,000 I got rid of it then switched to BMW I was told this at a Mercedes California dealership. Maybe Mercedes changed their mind or the guy didn't know what he was talking about I also know I wasn't the only one told this regardless I'm glad I switched

Oh ok. I didn't realize you were referring to prepaid maintenance.

[iamwingman]

Originally Posted by Maynard

OK, gotta post this, and this seems like the best place. Vindication that when it comes to brands, BMW is still king over MB. Last night I'm killing time with Family Feud when they run this:
We asked 100 single women, When your date drives up, what kind of a car do you hope they drive? and the #1 answer is BMW. Even I was thinking it would be MB or some other richeymobile, so nice to see the brand still ranking with such a key demographic.

The Vette gets em wet.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by NemesisX

Ultimately it's pretty random how you define class. The only reason I include that income bracket within "upper middle class" is because most people who make that kind of income (plus or minus $50k/year) consider themselves to be squarely "upper middle class" (I had the article bookmarked but I can't find it at the moment)

If most of their money is coming in as wage income, they're part of the tax bracket that pays the highest effective tax rate of all income filers in the nation.

And obviously like others have mentioned location matters a lot. $350k/year in the middle of nowhere in Nebraska is very different from $350k/year in Palo Alto or Manhattan.

$350k/year for a single person (upper class?) is very different from $350k/year for someone supporting a wife and a child (upper middle class?) or someone supporting a wife and 2-3 children (upper middle class?).

lol none of that changes official govt statistics or tax brackets

[NemesisX]

Originally Posted by ASAP

lol none of that changes official govt statistics or tax brackets

???

I'm not claiming that $350k isn't top 1.5% income (or whatever it is). I'm claiming:

(1) many people who make $350k/year consider themselves "upper middle class" in spite of it being top 1.5% income.

(2) some sociologists include certain households making this income upper middle class

and

(3) cost of living differences further serve to complicate the issue (e.g. $350k/year in manhattan is top 6 or 7% income, or whatever it is)

Some sociologists consider only those who make up to 1 standard deviation more than the median income to be "upper middle class." $350k/year falls well outside of this bracket under this definition.