If you have nice clothes, do you need a nice car?

[James Bond]

Originally Posted by mafoofan

I love cars, but it's stupid to think your material possessions should 'match' for the sake of demonstrating wealth. Taking that thinking a step further, one should prefer more popularly prestigious clothing as well. Afterall, if a man can afford a BMW, shoudn't he be able to afford a nice Armani suit to match? God forbid he step out of his luxury sport sedan wearing a suit that isn't even designer.

I don't drive a BMW because it's prestigious. I drive it because it's fun.

 

[topbroker]

Originally Posted by raphael

You should drive a nice car regardless of whether you have nice clothes or not. Anybody who sees you stepping out of a car is going to judge you by the car first, not by your clothes.

$4000 tux coming out of a beat-up '80s Honda looks like a cheap rental tux and you're dressed up for your boss' formal..

You walk out of a new black Mercedes wearing cheap fitted jeans and a t-shirt and you just look like you're dressed down because you're busy and running errands for the house on a Tuesday afternoon.

Point is people judge what you're doing by the clothes you wear, while they judge your financial stature by the car you walk out of. The car makes a much larger impact for the image-conscious.

The California perspective has now been heard from.

Quite different in the Midwest, bro. Sort of reverse snobbery here -- ostentation is not the norm. (I'm sort of inherently ostentatious, so I know this.)

As I've said before, read The Millionaire Next Door -- which puts this whole issue into perspective. There is an enormous amount of quiet wealth out there, just as there is an enormous amount of flashy near-poverty. (Sometimes the latter folks are driven into the near-poverty by their expensive flashy purchases -- and again, I know whereof I speak.)

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by topbroker

The California perspective has now been heard from.

Please, don't tar us all with that feather.

 

[Mark from Plano]

Originally Posted by iammatt

Please, don't tar us all with that feather.

Or something like that...

 

[topbroker]

Originally Posted by iammatt

Please, don't tar us all with that feather.

Joking, hence the smiley. It's the stereotypical California perspective. I love California -- I lived in San Francisco for five years. There are as many un-ostentatious "millionaires next door" (probably more) in California as anywhere.

 

[Get Smart]

Originally Posted by topbroker

The California perspective has now been heard from.

It's def more of a SOCAL perspective

I just noticed you're in Appleton....been there 2x while in GreenBay and I have to say that there are some great antique shops in Appleton WI

anyways, just got my Mini Cooper back from the body shop last nite and while it's a modest car, it def is a part of my "total look"

 

[TheFoo]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

A dandy in search of that "Total Look"--or schongeisterei in German--would seek out something that represented value to him alone, and not necessarily some sort of symbolic value to the masses; usually it would be a vehicle that was based on pure esthetics.

We are in agreement that one should appreciate the thing in and of itself, rather than for what it represents to others. However, I'd argue that understanding the beauty of a car requires some knowledge of its function as a car and a machine. At the end of the day, whether or not you aim to produce a 'Total Look', as you call it, you should learn to appreciate things independantly.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by topbroker

The California perspective has now been heard from.

Quite different in the Midwest, bro. Sort of reverse snobbery here -- ostentation is not the norm. (I'm sort of inherently ostentatious, so I know this.)

As I've said before, read The Millionaire Next Door -- which puts this whole issue into perspective. There is an enormous amount of quiet wealth out there, just as there is an enormous amount of flashy near-poverty. (Sometimes the latter folks are driven into the near-poverty by their expensive flashy purchases -- and again, I know whereof I speak.)

You talking bout the guys living in the trailer park but driving a Hummer in my town??

Indiana....psssssh

 

[TheFoo]

Originally Posted by James Bond

I don't drive a BMW because it's prestigious. I drive it because it's fun.

Don't get me wrong, I like BMWs--though not so much the newest generation (too heavy, too ugly). There are plenty of good reasons to buy one, but they're still cars that many buy for prestige. It's those people I was criticizing.

 

[ghulkhan]

Oceans 11---when brad pitt steps out of the piece of junk dressed well

that was the ****

 

[topbroker]

Originally Posted by topbroker

Joking, hence the smiley. It's the stereotypical California perspective. I love California -- I lived in San Francisco for five years. There are as many un-ostentatious "millionaires next door" (probably more) in California as anywhere.

Come to think of it, I love Texas too (hello, Mark from Plano!), where the stereotype of wealth would also be, show it off, live it large. And there are undoubtedly folks like that very visible in Texas (although some are all hat, no cattle), just as there are in California. I think the tally of ostentation in the Midwest is, noticeably, a little lower.

Migrating the thread to discussion of regional character, but that makes a certain amount of sense in discussing attitudes towards cars.

 

[Mark from Plano]

Originally Posted by topbroker

Come to think of it, I love Texas too (hello, Mark from Plano!), where the stereotype of wealth would also be, show it off, live it large. And there are undoubtedly folks like that very visible in Texas (although some are all hat, no cattle), just as there are in California. I think the tally of ostentation in the Midwest is, noticeably, a little lower.

Migrating the thread to discussion of regional character, but that makes a certain amount of sense in discussing attitudes towards cars.

Hey...I resemble that remark!

 

[James Bond]

Originally Posted by mafoofan

Don't get me wrong, I like BMWs--though not so much the newest generation (too heavy, too ugly). There are plenty of good reasons to buy one, but they're still cars that many buy for prestige. It's those people I was criticizing.

Fair enough. Mine's an E36 M3.

 

[briancl]

It is not necessary to have a nice car to match your clothes. Unless you truly enjoy something about cars and motoring (maybe vintage is your thing, or motorsports), then buying a "nice" car is phony. You don't buy a 3-series because your wardrobe has surpassed your Accord or because you just landed the big promotion. You buy the 3-series because you appreciate the car for what it is. A car is not a status symbol.

And who decides what is cars are "nice"? Basically, the manufacturers who market themselves a certain way and have been elevated to a particular level in the popular culture. A lot of people in this thread equate vintage with class and style, but that is entirely subjective and really does not represent eveyrone. Likewise, a lot of people think a C-class MB is classy simply because its a Benz.

I own a modded up, barely streetable Subaru. It isn't glamorous or even good looking, but it is exactly what I want in a car, which is on-track performance, reliability, and safety. Many people who meet me have no idea that I race my car until I tell them. It doesn't match my personality or my wardrobe, but that doesn't mean anything.

 

[Huntsman]

Originally Posted by raphael

You walk out of a new black Mercedes wearing cheap fitted jeans and a t-shirt and you just look like you're dressed down because you're busy and running errands for the house on a Tuesday afternoon.

Point is people judge what you're doing by the clothes you wear, while they judge your financial stature by the car you walk out of. The car makes a much larger impact for the image-conscious.

I find I completely disagree -- from the standpoint of reality, than from the standpoint of whatever world the image-conscious live in.

When I see a guy getting out of a nice car in awful clothes, I usually think 'tool' or 'idiot.' Ferrari guy in bermuda shorts and sandals? High end Merc, ratty jeans, and a Nascar baseball cap? Meh, doesn't work for me -- the clothes make more of a statement, way more in my estimation, than a car ever will.

It does take cash to drive a nice car, it takes cash to dress well -- but it's two orders of magnitude less cash. Further, the var says nothing about how conscientious a person is about...anything. Clothes, style, grooming, so much more so.

Best,
Huntsman