[easton]

People still buy Omega and Rolex even if they don’t wear them every day. My dad uses a Fitbit instead of an Apple Watch so he can wear his nice watch and still get the data.

In the car market, the “heart” has been the same for a long time. The Honda Accord has about as luxurious (at least 90%, you get leather, great driving sensors, strong V6, etc.) of any luxury sedan under 100k, but people still buy those. Those brands mean something to people.

[throw1234651234]

This is a super interesting topic to me - I basically don't consider buying anything other than a Civic. A new car is a HUGE expense to me (that I have never made in my life yet), but the more I think about it, the more ridiculous the inflation on a BMW 3-series (for example) becomes. People are genuinely paying an extra $20,000 for the badge. At least in the US, where parts, labor, and all associated costs are also more expensive on OEM imports.

The mental coping mechanism is also the fact that Honda/Toyota make a ridiculous amounts of civics/corollas/accords/camrys, so they have to have efficiencies of scale going for them more so than other company's line ups.