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Why are so many inferior vehicles considered status symbols?
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Is it morally okay? I dont think so.
and the smart hard working students from poor backgrounds will end up growing up and driving a Ferarri and giving their spouses a Maybach as a Valentines Day gift.
And the smartest ones will outsource their business activities and support the livelihoods of thousands of impoversished and hungry people in poor countries. And hopefully their businesses will thrive so they can buy a second Ferarri and help the auto workers from Italy.
Nothing wrong with that, dont you think?
I have a Honda, so I can bash it all I want...and I have a domestic, so I can do that too....
My Suburban is being born again as we speak...with new paint and new freshenup all around....
Price = $172K
Based on what I read this car is in hot demand. The Flying Spur is most similar to is a VW Phaeton. This Bentley has the same W12 engine and chassis of the Phaeton and 55 percent of its parts are Phaeton parts. The key difference between the Phaeton and the Flying Spur is that the Bentley engine is turbocharged while the same engine in the Phaeton is not turbocharged.
Ironically the Phaeton at a fraction of the price of the Flying Spur could not be sold in the USA while Bentley cant sell enough Flying Spurs.
If people were rational the Phaeton would be one hot car and the Bentley Flying Spur would not be able to fly off dealer lots. Unfortunately rationality does not apply when buying a Bentley.
My friend who drives one is an MD...and he also owns a professional center that treats his patients. HE gets up at all hours to check on the condition of his patients. HE doesn't alwaays show up at Disneyland since frequently he is on call, when he is NOT working. ( you have to be within a certain distance of hospital when on call.)...
so the precious few hours that he has for himself and his family, he wants to enjoy it. HE is an upstanding person who supports charities. They also have old money....so money is not the problem....most people get their money from real estate and working hard at their own business.
The smart, the smarter and the smartest will pour their 200K again into education and learning so that 100 more students will come out from each of the 100 X 200K investment with same passion.
100 X 100 = Ten thousand and so on.
This will start a chain reaction and so happiness will win, not obesity and arrogance
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain;
Commandment number 7.
Mentioning Jesus here is both unappropriated and subject to controversy in this thread. I would be ultimately cautious before attributing some opinion to any religious figure.
>Investing 200K in educational Institutions or even high schools will support "Hundred" students. These students after graduation will support the economy to a
This is an effort everybody must participate in and not only the super-rich because they were "guilty" of making more money than the average guy. Too easy to have a few pay for the many
The "fat" dealer, along with the sales and service department people employed by him or her, will make more efficient use of the money.
Great points.....
But the use of God was in the metaphysical terms...and what would he want us to do...I think that is what steve meant. I agree that none of us can guess as to the Almighty's plan for us....
Also agree that it takes all of us....the whole community and culture, to participate ( and not just with money) in making it cool and culturally admirable to study and be smart.
money for cars is good. money for teachers is good.
But most importantly, parents have to spend real time and support children's learning at all levels...
including use of money to buy their first car....status symbol or inferior car, or practical car...!! (attempt to stay on topic)
Used to see a scary number of parents coming in to by Infiniti G35 Coupes for their kiddies as a first car. I'm not sure I'd want a 16 year old driving a 280hp RWD sports coupe. The G35 has lots of nice safety feautes but turn off the VDC and it becomes a real over-steering handful.
My eldest son does not want our Acura TL 2004 with A-spec package...and we asked him...and he said he wanted a minivan...so that is what we got...
It's okay to have a Ferrari, or many inferior status symbols, many houses, butlers, attendents, jewelery, be flashy and conspicous as long as one follows the 10 main laws and then backs up that behavior with 613 other strong suggestions. All will actually be okay. YMMV.
Probably, probably not. Your way of thinking is predominant in my home country, France. Anyone making much above average is deemed suspicious of ripping of our poor victim workers of their basic means. There is no need to explain any further why this Capital-unfriendly country is not doing well.
French cars (decent in the economy class but inexistant in premium class) are a true reflection of this. Maybe you prefer French cars...
It may, but there is about one billion people who may at best feel lukewarm about those suggestions, maybe not for reasonable reasons.
Anyway, until proven guilty, those who made enough money to buy supercars should be considered innocent. If those guys were not existing, then supercars would not exist either. Our world would be quite dull and not necessarily "better".
That may be true, but that is why they are only suggestions. Unlike a previous post that said in not so many words, I did not suggest you will be doomed to eternal damnation if you don't follow any of the preceeding suggestions and, I do not think the supreme being sets the cutoff for damnation at $200K.
France is a Bureaucrat's Nirvana and that is probably why 70 percent of the French youth yearn to enter the civil service.
. Ironically entrepreneur is a French word but in France itself wealthy hard working entrepreneurs are looked down upon as exploiters of labor while Civil servants are emulated as heroic saviors.
Currently I am grateful to have my own business since I have memories of being a government employee at the Canadian tax department and that experience almost killed me(death from politics and boredom).
Fintail, you can finally afford a SLR !!!! :P
Rocky
Rocky
This should exclude all overweight passions.
Of course Ferrari is exempt as it is God's own car, :P
Although everyone in the society should contribute, I think Rich have more responsibility.
We should remember what God said, that the more capable are also more responsible.
The question we must ask is will Anglo-American economic style evolve into something more narcissist or will it become more ethical.
In other words will there be more enrons or will there be more
GEs.
I agree...those who have more..may have a civic duty to do more...
or as they said in Spiderman: " to those with great powers, comes great responsibility."
I agree. Lest us pray the Almighty to send to hell anyone buying for less than 100k. The uneducated, helpless mass buys cheaply produced cars that clog our roads and look anonymous. Only those who value the cars enough and pay the real money should be allowed to have a taste of Heaven.
This should exclude anorexic reasons.
Of course, the 2CV is exempt...
I would suspect that being stuck with a 2CV is the equivalent of purgatory.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Rocky
Rocky
Depending on what one means with "inferior" and "Status symbol", it seems this car really enters the category. Owning one is Hype but will be always regarded with sympathy (if not compassion) in that country.
I had a talk with the almighty and he said the cutoff is now $20K. It was conveyed to me, and I was asked to spread the word that we should all be driving Hyundais. I suspect that once word gets out about this Land Rovers should be available for a mere pittance.
Part of the answer is effective marketing on the part of those manufacturers. That is one reason why Rolex watches and Mont Blanc pens are so often thought of, by the uninformed, as the best in their respective niches, when they are clearly not.
And who says reliability should rank first anyway? Isn't that what warranties and loaner car programs are for?
I have no answer for the existence of the Hummer, however. That one baffles me.
Odie
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
At the same time 17K can buy a vintage car that the layman will think is much more expensive.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
My Generation was all about who had the most "bass" and how many times did it make your heart skip beats. :shades:
Rocky
Something tells me a DTS with a carriage top is a status item to 80 year olds.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Rocky
Relative status indeed...I knew a friend of a friend who, upon inheriting a decent amount of money from a recently-deceased uncle, immediately went out and bought himself a fully-loaded Pontiac Firebird. He was esp. happy it had a 6-disc cd player so he could put all of his Def Leppard cds in at once...