[mattgreenrocks]

> It's the last bit of personal expression they have in life.

No it isn't, they chose to make their consumer choices into an identity that needs "expressing." It's just a car. I don't begrudge their choice to want the car they want, I dislike the implication that they're somehow forced into buying it.

[johnnyanmac]

I should preface that with "it feels like" the last bit of expression. A house is out of reach, community is siloing off, hobbies become more solitary.

"Its just a car" to them in the same way "it's just a streamer" to someone developing a parasocial relationship. If only it was that easy to snap them out of it.