Premium Car Buyers Shaken by Recession, Stirred by Conscience

[rfernatt]

Premium Car Buyers Shaken by Recession, Stirred by Conscience

This permanent shift has replaced the conspicuous consumer with “the conscientious consumer,” even in the area of luxury goods like high-end automobiles. Such goods should be marketed as “premium,” not “luxury” to reflect this new reality, said DYG co-founder and president Madelyn Hochstein.

Those in the highest income bracket surveyed — $150,000 and above — were most likely to assert themselves as humble, smart and socially, politically and environmentally responsible.

“There is always status,” she said. Rather than buying cars that scream “I can still afford a luxury car,” today’s recession-scarred premium shoppers want to convey something Hochstein calls “dog-whistle taste” — so named because only others in the know pick up on it. DYG’s analysis found another interesting thing about selling upscale cars in a downscale economy: The recession has made people more likely to drop a bundle on a luxury, er, premium car as a reward for actual or perceived hard work.

Because, you know, those people consider themselves humble.

[Dunerunner]

My next car:

The Lexus LS 600h Hybrid Drive $122,320.00
0-60 in 5.5 seconds, a 13.8 second quarter mile, 130 mph top speed, 20/22 mpg!!



But....It's a hybrid!!

[vwW12]

Originally Posted by rfernatt

Premium Car Buyers Shaken by Recession, Stirred by Consciencetoday’s recession-scarred premium shoppers want to convey something Hochstein calls “dog-whistle taste” — so named because only others in the know pick up on it.

In Germany, where unemployment for decades has been two- or three- times higher than the US (most of the time), it is customary for owners of higher-end vehicles to debadge them, also known as removing the schriftzüge.

Therefore, only those in the know are able to identify the subtle clues that you drive an M-series bimmer, or an S-series Audi, or a V10, or a 12-cyliner Merc.

I am not entirely sure we want to live in a situation where achievement and the things that derive from it are expected to be kept a sottovoce.

[mdfortwoguy]

Sometimes I wonder if I am the only consumer out there who marches to the beat of his own drum.

I bought my car because I like how it drives, I like how it looks, I like the thought and build quality behind it. I'm currently looking for a replacement for my VUE... the only brand I am looking at is Mercedes Benz. I'm looking at MB for quality, the heritage, how they look and drive - not because I want to show off my financial strength.

People parading behind a badge are what helped get our economy into the state that it is today...