BB1
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A more interesting question is why do so many people feel their car is a reflection of themselves, similar to how clothing is often viewed?
With clothing the link is far more direct since people will frequently mistake a perfect fitting, well styled outfit as being one in the same as the person wearing it. The psychologist J. C. Flugel even coined the term "confluence" to describe this phenomena of mistaking one's clothing as being an actual part of the person themselves. But with a car this association is far weaker.
Yet in American society most people spend hugely disproportionate amounts of their income on new cars every few years, and relatively little on clothing. If you spend a while watching the cars come and go in a parking lot, it is not difficult to spot $40,000+ new vehicles with the people getting out of them looking like they buy all their clothing form Walmart or Costco.
To the average American a $500 pair of shoes is an unthinkable level of luxury! (Recall the big deal made a couple years ago over John McCain's $500 shoes). Yet a $40,000 car is seen as very sensible to many or perhaps even a level of luxury that one deserves, never mind that $15,000 cars exist that might suit their transportation needs too.
How did we get this point? Why the difference?
With clothing the link is far more direct since people will frequently mistake a perfect fitting, well styled outfit as being one in the same as the person wearing it. The psychologist J. C. Flugel even coined the term "confluence" to describe this phenomena of mistaking one's clothing as being an actual part of the person themselves. But with a car this association is far weaker.
Yet in American society most people spend hugely disproportionate amounts of their income on new cars every few years, and relatively little on clothing. If you spend a while watching the cars come and go in a parking lot, it is not difficult to spot $40,000+ new vehicles with the people getting out of them looking like they buy all their clothing form Walmart or Costco.
To the average American a $500 pair of shoes is an unthinkable level of luxury! (Recall the big deal made a couple years ago over John McCain's $500 shoes). Yet a $40,000 car is seen as very sensible to many or perhaps even a level of luxury that one deserves, never mind that $15,000 cars exist that might suit their transportation needs too.
How did we get this point? Why the difference?