[Closed] Are we seeing the beginning of the end of the car as status symbol?

"Cars", eh? Ermm.... nah. Y'got me there.

Nah. Not sure a 3-series is a status symbol, is it? Perhaps it used to be. I think BMW do really cheap lease deals on them, so they are perhaps cheaper to own than a Mondeo or Vectra, which were the previous rep-mobile.
Anyhoo....

Owning a car, especially one that has a large petrol engine is becoming more and more expensive, so I would think that they will become more of a status symbol in future years, rather than less. Dunno......but I can see a time when most people have converted to wheezy little economic cars or perhaps even electric, while the people with the money will be willing to pay more and more money for petrol to fuel their V8 Aston.

In a word, no, not yet.

We're certainly becoming more aware that you can actually get around with other forms of transport but mindsets take a long time to change and I still hear people talking about cars very much the same way as ever.

I've mentioned it before but I had some people query whether my job really was what I said it was because I didn't drive a flash enough car for that to be believable apparently...

Nah - Some men will always feel inadequate in certain departments. And that has to be compensated for in the same tediously predictable and uniquely unimaginative way

It would be a huge step forward for humankind, something that I hope to see in my lifetime

There is something to it. I used to be impressed (for want of a better word) by nice cars, whereas now I assume it's a rental and/or the 'owner' still lives at home, and as you point out so called premium cars are ten a penny now.

The fact so many premium cars are just branding exercises now doesn't help either.

There's a guy in my office who is an utter douchebag when it comes to cars (actually he's an utter douchebag when it comes to most other things too). He drives a 3 series and loudly gives the whole office daily clarkson-esque reviews of its power delivery and road-holding prowess. It's not unusual to hear him use the phrase "the drive of your life". Anyway, he's the kind of guy who thinks a car is a status symbol. I think he's a dying breed and comes across as increasingly knobish even to other people who like cars. I think a car is a tool, and I quite like the fact that my £200 banger does the same job as his beemer.

Edit to add that my various bangers get far more comments in the office than the douchebag's beemer, which clearly annoys him. Probably because a 1991 Peugeot 309 tends to stand out parked in a sea of BMWs and Range Rovers.

Yes. This from someone who once ran Range Rovers, then Discoveries and is now happily messing up a nice van.

I can remember living on a new housing estate in early noughties and wife bought herself a very nice, used 325i M-coupe. Even back then, cars of that ilk were relatively rare in those parts. Go back to the same place today and they're often two to a household. So proliferation is part of it.

Another aspect is that as the luxury makers have set their stalls out for the new-world bling, they're offerings have really got increasingly too large and too pricey for (sensible) UK buyers.

There is also, increasingly, a feeling that 'prestige' motors can be rather vulgar and I know a good many people who also wish to hide their wealth for various reasons.

All that said, I personally respect those who choose to run exotic motors - a neighbour has just bouth a Lamborghini Aventador, which is mobile art on several levels IMHO - for the benefit of those of us without sufficient funds/balls to do so.

I think that cars are becoming less of a status symbol as there are so many ways and means of financing them, I think I saw an ad for a 5 series BMW for £300 a month. I'm not on a massive salary but I could afford that relatively easily if I was that bothered about a car.

Also the number of people that have company cars or allowances as part of their jobs mean that most cars on the road nowadays are new, and anything older than 10 years old seems 'very' old.

But more reasonable people than your example think it too - they'll comment on someone's nice new car in an approving way for example. They may not shout about it but given the amount of money people spend on cars, we clearly do think of them as more than just a utility.

So now that so many people have premium cars, people who want status will get it from elsewhere, coupled with the fact that we're driving less and therefore the opportunity to display our status with our cars is becoming smaller...

I think you vastly overestimate the amount of people who use cars as a status symbol. Mainly knob heads obviously. To most people surely they are just a means to get around and they will buy what they can afford.

In the Noughties, I believe BMW 3-series became the best-selling car in the UK.

Haven't noticed the number of car commuters dropping, what do official figures say? I just don't get the whole "status afforded by accoutrements". I know on a road near me (where I think all the houses are <£100k) the multitude of shiny mercs audis and bmws outside suggests some people feel very strongly about it.

I've mentioned it before but I had some people query whether my job really was what I said it was because I didn't drive a flash enough car for that to be believable apparently...

At work our clients tend to be decision makers, managers, directors, stuff like that. Pretty much every one of them rocks up in a big new car. Audis, BMWs, Bentleys, Mercedes, etc. It's definitely very much a status symbol amongst that demograph. Our own MD claims the only reason he owns a big car is because it's expected... He 100% believes it helps business (bearing in mind it's not used for business, it's just parked outside the office).

I drive a 12 year old Nissan 1.0L Micra, obviously i have an enormous c*** and a shed load of cash.

People will replace it with something else, like badly paid housemaids *cough* slaves *cough*. Around the dinner table people will start talking about the pros and cons of Filipino housemaids vs Romanian housemaids and how many they have hired *cough* I mean own *cough*.

Lauding it over other people seems to be a fundamental need for a lot of individuals.

To be fair, car companies are possibly a step ahead of us and maybe saw this coming before we did? Look at the sheer range of models available, even across one brand, let alone across the choice we have in the UK. Niches that didn't even exist are now catered for, thanks to platform sharing, brand acquisitions etc. It's been subtle enough, but cars are marketed to us less as showing how much you earn, but more to show what type of person you are. Interesting topic though.

Having said all that, if I see someone I like driving something nice, I'll think he's done well for himself. If I see a cock driving something nice I'll think he's probably leasing it and his family is going hungry so he can drive it. I'm only human. 🙂

If you look in the car park at work, theres a 50/50 split.

There's a row of brand new Beemers. These are all company cars, on lease, driven by the Gareth Cheesemans.

Everything else, without exception, is a 10+ year old bog standard family saloon. These are owned by people who actually have to pay for their own vehicles.

I'd imagine theres an awful lot of places like that

People mock my car and look down on it because it's held together with gaffer tape and over 20 years old, judging it on its appearance rather than the fact that it's actually a very capable tool, still gets from A to B, passes and MOT every year, holds bucket loads of stuff, and due to age and condition I don't have the fretting about minor bumps and scrapes that they do*

So I'd say no, people still view them as status symbols.
The expectation is now entrenched in society for people to own a nice shiny new(ish) car rather than one that performs the task required.

It's a bit odd that people 'approve' more of wasting money on a new car than keeping an old one running and getting the most out of it.

*I know someone who has spent more on getting minor bumps and scrapes touched up/fixed on his new car in the last year than I have spent servicing, fuelling and AND insuring my car in the last 5

Our other car is starting to cost money to keep going so we are now getting rid of it, lucky for me we are getting my parents old (2008!) car as a replacement from them, but to be honest we are a bit wary of it, it's far too new a shiny for us and still feels a bit odd in some ways that we'll own a car that new and worth more than £3k...

I hope not, I'm waiting for a new Audi to be delivered. I expect to be able to win dick measuring contests for some time as a result of my new motor.

*swoons*

Sounds like a headline.

Long answer is way too lengthy to attempt, but roughly - in a consumer culture people will (to differing degrees) use acquisitions as a way to impress others/establish their loftiness or loyalties. The objects themselves will wax and wane, but individual transport (in this case cars) will surely be around for a long time yet.

It's a bit odd that people 'approve' more of wasting money on a new car than keeping an old one running and getting the most out of it.

Same kind of people who (if they don't ride bikes themselves) would look down upon cyclists as cheapskates/poor/lower-level. Of course, internecine cyclist infighting and snobbery is nowhere to be seen hereabouts, we're all on board with whatever, right? 8)

As with anyone producing a report find out what they are promoting

A Different Kind of Transportation Firm

Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates is an internationally recognized firm committed to developing transportation systems that promote vibrant, sustainable, and accessible communities. Founded by two women in 1987, Nelson\Nygaard has grown from its roots in transit planning to a 100-person, full-service transportation firm with offices across the United States.

Putting People First

Nelson\Nygaard puts people first. We recognize that transportation is not an end by itself but a platform for achieving broader community goals of mobility, equity, economic development, and healthy living.

In a word no, the article is a PR piece to grab headlines and promote an agenda of the author who wants to promote non car based transport solutions.

The decision not to have a car is that of urban (and some suburban) dwellers only.Rural life is still very car dependent.

I'm a bit like Nemesis - have the type of job that should suggest German car, but choose to stick with my 4 year-old Mazda hatchback.

Does it scratch the itch to own something s****y? No, but it has plenty of upsides - being paid for is one!

Meanwhile on Pistonheads...

I think a [s]car[/s] bike is a tool, and I quite like the fact that my £200 banger does the same job as his [s]beemer[/s] Santa Cruz.

80% of cars are on credit, kids communicate by social media and they(cars) are becoming more expensive and less useful.

Decent public transport is all the nail that's needed.

Also as above people are better at working out their finances, so unless my mortgage was paid and there's six figures in the bank I'm not chucking 30k at a car.

If you haven't paid cash for it, a car isn't a status symbol but a millstone round your neck.

(Unless it is a tool that directly contributes to your income)

Nah. Not sure a 3-series is a status symbol, is it? Perhaps it used to be. I think BMW do really cheap lease deals on them, so they are perhaps cheaper to own than a Mondeo or Vectra, which were the previous rep-mobile.

Yes.
Aristocrat drug dealer lottery winner Z list celeb self made millionaire inherited financed all drive the same motors.
Its lovely to see a fine car on the road though.
BMW Audi etc I just think company car.
I've gone from Disco to 320M to no car, seriously considering a Dacia for when I don't want to walk or ride.

No, nowhere near.

I take it where you live is not infested with chav scum?

I am old enough to remember when neighbour's twitching curtains and sniffy accusations of purchase by credit met any new car that appeared on the street of whatever price level. There was much talk when my old man bought one of these shiny new super machines....

[img] http://www.classicandperformancecar.com/front_website/octane_interact/modelpicture.php?id=3706 [/img]

😆

These are all company cars, on lease, driven by the Gareth Cheesemans.

But the point is that most do take the company car option even though they almost always can have an allowance instead which is usually (if mileage is included, taking the company car does work for those who do big miles) more beneficial in terms of costs/disposable income - so long as you don't need to own the latest German motor.

There is also, increasingly, a feeling that 'prestige' motors can be rather vulgar and I know a good many people who also wish to hide their wealth for various reasons.

Working across the road from a Bentley Dealership, I'd say sadly not....

At the top end I'd say cars have never been selling so well. I'm in central London and I've never seen so many flash motors in 25 years working here (I had 2 MaClarens go past last week whilst cycling home). The new markets like Asia love cars as status symbols, whilst in Singapore I'd regularly find $2.5m Lambos (huge tax there) owned by guys with $1.5m apartments.

I think also there is a trend for small high quality cars like the Audi A1. You could buy a small cheap car for nearly half of what a top A1 sells for but they are selling in large numbers.

footflaps - Member

Working across the road from a Bentley Dealership, I'd say sadly not....

Ooooh, I enjoyed parking my 10yr old Ibiza in their car park while I nipped into the VW dealer for some coolant. It did look a bit out of place.

[img] [/img]

Wise man. I'd vote for him.

I'm in central London and I've never seen so many flash motors in 25 years working here

I don't reckon London is normal much as it supports my point. For a start the whole Middle Eastern/Russian money thing massively skews it.

For a start the whole Middle Eastern/Russian money thing massively skews it.

Not to mention the higher-than-average Twunt Density. 😆

😉

Meanwhile on Pistonheads...

I think a car bike is a tool, and I quite like the fact that my £200 banger does the same job as his beemer Santa Cruz.

Not the same comparison though is it, I doubt many people use their Santa Cruz as a commuter/load lugger/general transport, that's firmly in the 'sport' sector of cycling and that means it's not doing the same job at all.

That would be like comparing someone's trackday/4x4 trials car with your family hatch, a different kettle of fish entirely.

My 'sporting/race bicycles' (good lord!) are a lot shinier than my every day commuting tool/triggers broom bike because they serve two different functions, and most people don't use their car for sport/competition.

I drive old cars, I dont care what others think, I service it myself, it does not break down or depreciate nor do I worry where I park it.

Gave up on status symbols after I married - say no more

Gave up on status symbols after I married - say no more

My wife has the flash motor (company car) and I have a 1.0 Picanto base model.

Oh, and depending whether I'm at work in the North West or That London, I either drive very slowly looking at the queue stretching ahead of me on a clogged up motorway to an anonymous out-of-town business park or take the Virgin train and then wedge myself into the tube.

I've yet to work out which is the higher status symbol.

I have two cars, my son drives one, my wife the other. I fully expect to be buying a third soon but I won't be driving that either!

I think some people are in danger of falling over backwards they're looking so far down their noses at nice cars.

Don't forget, car's can actualy be fun, they don't have to be a dull grey £400 banger that does absolutely nothing to improve your life other than get from A 2 B.

[img] [/img]
About to get uprated dampers, polybushes, new kingpins, and lowered at the back and lowered and uprated springs at the front.

What if getting from A to B improves your life?

What if getting from A to B improves your life?

My other car is a Focus C-max, which is a hatefully dull grey place to be, it's cheep and functional, it's better handling and faster than the MG. However if I had to nuke one from orbit and eraze it from history, it'd be the Ford.

Life's too short to spend n hours on the motorway in a dull car, but not to short to spend n+1 hours doing it in the MG grinning like and idiot. I imagine a quick beemer has a similar effect with the added benefit of it only taking n-1 hours.

The MG's different though isn't it, slow, small , no manpart enlargement qualities whatsoever but just a nice thing to own and enjoy.

Whereas a massively expensive new car is just like a lesser model but a bit faster(that you can't use) and looks like an 80's Aiwa HiFi and will make everyone think you got into hock for status symbol because properly rich people drive W reg Peugeots.

Not for the foreseeable future are cars as status symbols in decline. Just look at the new car sales figures - highest ever. All the higher cost manufacturers are having a sales boom.

Had 2 customers both worked for a well known banking companys, one got to give the keys out to new cars, he said fully grown and aledgedley mature adults would throw a strop when they didnt get a car of the colour they wanted, and when the bank lost the contract to do german finance they stopped issuing staff with german cars and you had to have a Renult laguna, or a ford, as a company car, people left their jobs because they couldnt have a german car.

Second chap so chuffed he got a german car, and so pissed of when a few weeks later was made redundant and lost it along with a cheap mortgage, he had.

Lots of comapny cars usually have the firm who leases them on the number plate,easy to point out to obnoxious drivers, just say i see you have a comapny vehicle, that can be taken off you at any time,always gets a result.

D0NK - Member

In the Noughties, I believe BMW 3-series became the best-selling car in the UK.
wasn't that due to companies switching to bmw for their fleets?

Haven't noticed the number of car commuters dropping, what do official figures say? I just don't get the whole "status afforded by accoutrements". I know on a road near me (where I think all the houses are <£100k) the multitude of shiny mercs audis and bmws outside suggests some people feel very strongly about it

I was thinking EXACTLY this the other week as i was riding down a street near me. The houses are probably in the vicinity of 80 to 95k. There's mercs/jags/bmw's galore.

I was thinking EXACTLY this the other week as i was riding down a street near me. The houses are probably in the vicinity of 80 to 95k. There's mercs/jags/bmw's galore.

I noticed something similar commuting between Teesside and Reading. The cars at the Middlesborough office were on average nicer, presumably because they all had small/no mortgages but similar earnings (averageing 60k I guess).

I own a 3-series it's not a status symbol, it's 13 years old in what my work colleagues call grandad green, cost me just over a grand the other year, just like how they drive and the way they are put together. Had a Lamborghini in work the other day, yes it's pretty but completely pointless, but that apparently is a status symbol, the only status it had to me was that it's depreciation over the next three years was probably going to be more than my mortgage, so totally bonkers.

Cars are status symbols for certain sections of society, and there has never been so many different sections to society. This for me means that cars will always be status symbols to some, however as people care less about others outside of their social circle, overall it appears that people don't really care what the next man is driving.

Just a shame that despite being better than ever for long term durability, cars are getting treated as disposable objects in the same way clothes and gadgets are. Did I really see adverts for "this season's Ford Fiesta" ? 😯

As the Mercedes salesman (very honestly ) told my wife's Grandfather when he went to look at a cavernous coupe - "If you can afford to buy it outright then why on earth do you need it?"

I think there's a certain amount of reverse snobbery about cars now (just like TV's) If you have a battered old motor that's hardly ever washed sat outside of a nice house it implies that you're too busy enjoying life to give a damn. The only people I know with very shiny cars are generally very uptight.

Don't forget, car's can actualy be fun, they don't have to be a dull grey £400 banger that does absolutely nothing to improve your life other than get from A 2 B.

An MG [i]is[/i] an old banger. Just one with an inflated price tag 😉

You buy cars like that though because you like cars. It's not a status symbol. People just think you're having a mid-life crisis, or you're some weirdo who tinkers away in the garage every night. And maybe you are? But you're probably having fun in it either way.

I like cars, but many people seem to buy them mainly to impress others with.

No car is a status symbol? Who'd a think it I'm a trend setter! 😆

Even the least car orientated people i know use the car as a status symbol these days,

I gave a senior manager in my office a lift to the station one night , as i clicked the beeper on my car and the lights flashed he turned round and said ...."thats your car - you get paid what you get paid and THATS your car" - it was a 15 year old vaux frontera in rust and burgandy.

My reply was you can walk then .... Its reliable and owes me nothing why would i sign up to a large chunk of my wages for years to end up in the same situation in a few years .

He was most pleased when i told him i had bought a new car - until i said it was a 10 year old diesel berlingo.

Thing is - i like cars , i like tinkering with them , i like maintaining them , i like learning about how particular cars work - i actually despise driving - its mind numbing. I like gokarting - i like 4x4 trials , how ever in my mind i can seperate this from the public roads and so driving on the public road kills me. I hate getting into cars with friends who drive too fast for conditions- i have a couple of friends i wont get into the car with now - one who liked to overtake on blind corners who when i pointed it out he said - " i know but statistically on this road we will not meet anything"

The advent of pcp means folks treat the car like the latest mobile phone and pour thousands down the drain . Never mind means plenty of cheap cars for me.

seosamh77 - Member
No car is a status symbol? Who'd a think it I'm a trend setter!

Only if it's a prestige [i]No car[/i] 🙂

Ugh! That MG up there ^ has rubber bumpers!!! Why would you bother?

Why not get a decent British car like a TR4?

Cars are one of those cool things that can be both fun, and incredibly practical. I love driving my car, it also gets 60mpg and transports enormous amounts of things. Practical and fun is a venn diagram, not 2 boxes, tick one.

Mercedes E300 estate is THE ultimate status symbol car. It says; you needed an estate car, and you bought the car, and you won't ever need another. And you have a real Estate on which you park the car.

All of this stuff is cyclical I think....

A few years ago it was all about how big your telly was, now there is a similar snob-factor in not having a telly at all.

There are loads of examples of reverse-snobbery on here too - rigid/single-speed/steel hardtails.

Some sociology student has probably done a thesis on it (including the resurgence of the middle class beard) - but in the meantime, check-out "status anxiety" by Alain de Botton. Very interesting.

Having a cheap house and expensive car could be a result of status compensation through conspicuous consumption or it might reflect sources of income that are off the books or both. I used to live near people in a terraced street who had great big and new Chelsea tractors, they were often corner shop or restaurant owners.
Veblen wrote about this stuff 100 years ago.

that it's depreciation over the next three years was probably going to be more than my mortgage, so totally bonkers.

What does it matter, you cant take the house with you when you're dead any more than a car?

At work our clients tend to be decision makers, managers, directors, stuff like that. Pretty much every one of them rocks up in a big new car. Audis, BMWs, Bentleys, Mercedes, etc. It's definitely very much a status symbol amongst that demograph. Our own MD claims the only reason he owns a big car is because it's expected... He 100% believes it helps business (bearing in mind it's not used for business, it's just parked outside the office).

That's interesting. What sort of business is it? Sales?

We've got a very different set up here. Some of the secretaries and junior staff have nice cars, but anyone on the board or with any sort of clout has a Volvo, Skoda, Nissan etc. Someone once arrived in his wife's Cayman and never heard the end of it. Our company car list is full of Audis/Mercs/BMWs but very few in the car park (although many take the cash instead anyway).

That's a mix of lawyers, finance people, architects and engineers. Lots of good schools/universities, RP accents and signet rings floating around though, so I suspect not many see a mass produced bit of metal as a status symbol!

(I do drive a Mercedes btw, but it's 10.5 years old and it's an estate, so it's not exactly giving away my incredible success in life 🙂 )

ourmaninthenorth - Member
I'm a bit like Nemesis - have the type of job that should suggest German car, but choose to stick with my 4 year-old Mazda hatchback.

All of four years old? -I've never owned a car that new, I'm just about to go shopping in my 20 year old Golf.
It's obviously what [i]my[/i] job suggests.

Whilst its nice to have nice things I think the car has lost some of its appeal as a status symbol. There will always be some who have to have the latest and greatest but maybe finally its starting to change, I'd love to think so.

Doesn't mean you cant enjoy cars, there are some fine cars around.

Perhaps as a bunch of cyclists we still do our willy waving only now its with the latest/greatest bikes?

I think, on the whole, that people on here appear a little more snobbish about status symbols than people I know in everyday life.

However, people with nice cars on here seem to have them because they appreciate nice cars, rather than any ulterior motive.
Good on them - if that's what they want, go for it.
Not much snobbishness on the motoring threads.

Many choose different things to be snobbish about - size of waistline, supermarkets, pies, barbeques.

And bikes.
The Surly threads are hilarious.

😀

At work our clients tend to be decision makers, managers, directors, stuff like that. Pretty much every one of them rocks up in a big new car. Audis, BMWs, Bentleys, Mercedes, etc. It's definitely very much a status symbol amongst that demograph. Our own MD claims the only reason he owns a big car is because it's expected... He 100% believes it helps business (bearing in mind it's not used for business, it's just parked outside the office)

It can be a double edge sword. In some lines of business you need to wear your success outwardly - your clients get reassurance from the business you represent being healthy and wealthy. But it can cut the other way to.

There was a documentary years ago about an old Rolls Royce in which they contacted and interviewed all the people who had ever owned it - aristocrats to begin with and then various business and upper middle class types until it got old and tired and cheap and was bought by a small business owner (can't remember if he was in the building trade or scrap trade). He bought it for a laugh really but him it was a terrible decision because although he'd bought it for the same price as a Sierra it gave the impression he had more money than he knew what to do with. He started losing loads of work as the implied wealth gave the impression he was overcharging for his services and it made his customers feel they could get a keener deal elsewhere.

Thats true enough. My cousin, who's a proper petrol head, drove a Porsche 911. When he jacked in his corporate senior management position and started his own business, it had to go. He (grudgingly) replaced it with your standard german rep-mobile because he said, as a small business owner looking for business, pulling into the car park of a potential client in a brand new Porsche doesn't do you any favours

Mind you, a few years down the line and he's just taken delivery of a rather lovely F Type.

We had a pitch for a new PR company. One lady turned up from London in a Porsche Cayenne.....It wasn't so much the cost of the car but the fact that it was such a ridiculous choice....needless to say contract was awarded elsewhere....

My last company car was a BMW 1-series.
I got it because the overall cost of ownership (lease + tax + fuel) was better than a Skoda Octavia/Ford focus/various other cars of comparable size. (due to lower depreciation)
However, the list price was over £25k, and if it had been 'my money' i'd have bought an Octavia.
I think a lot of new 'premium' brands are either company cars, or on personal lease plans.
Several people in my office take cash instead of a company car, and use it to lease some pretty nice cars (Golf R, Merc Coupe, etc)

I've got a Passat estate now, I like it because it is a bit more classless and anonymous - but again, with a ticket price of £24k, I'm only driving it 'cos it is a company car.

Not the same comparison though is it

OK I'll make it less tenuous.

You can buy a £10k second hand car that will be equally as capable and as much fun as a £50k brand new car. You can also buy a £1k second hand MTB that will be equally as capable and as much fun as a £5k brand new bike.

Some people like to spend their money on cars, some people spend it on bikes. Some spend it on both. How many times do "we" joke about the nice cars at trail centres with the nice bikes on the roof.

I think what we are seeing is the age of reliable cars transforming the second hand car market. People realise that a 10 year old 3 Series with 100k on the clock is still an immensely capable and enjoyable car. Until a couple of years ago I had a 10 year old Boxster that cost me the right side of £10k. Driving anywhere was a hugely enjoyable experience and it cost me half the price of a new basic Golf. Why wouldn't you?

We had a new MD turn up to our little provincial office to tell a colleague that he couldn't have the £3K payrise that he had been verbally promised 6 months earlier by the previous IT director, the usual reasons -
bad business time, lack of money, etc, etc - unfortunately he turned up in an aston martin to deliver the news.

my colleague quit very soon afterwards - shame he was bloody good

I imagine a quick beemer has a similar effect with the added benefit of it only taking n-1 hours.

A quick beemer on the motorway is just a c-max with less noise and a nicer interior.

A lot of people do not own cars, they merely rent a seat in them. The deals I see about, especially for some prestige stuff are ridiculous and, for someone with a balanced financial outlook, total non-starters.

Granted there are those to whom £100k is small change, but there are also many spunking £5 to £10k p.a. in depreciation/rental that they can ill afford.

A quick beemer on the motorway is just a c-max with less noise and a nicer interior.

But those things are quite high up my priority list. A quiet drive a huge difference to me on long trips.

What about heated wing mirrors?