A perfectly cromulent usage.

My first car was an Acura Legend, old enough to be affordable but it still had all the features that had made it a luxury vehicle more than a decade prior. It taught me that I will never have leather seats in a vehicle again.

For one thing (and I know this doesn't apply to you,) leather gets scalding hot in the summer here, and will literally burn the back of your legs if you're wearing shorts. But the other thing about leather seats is that when they get old, they crack. It kind of starts happening all at once--for me, it was about two years after I bought it--and in six months you go from a nice smooth surface to giant pieces of upholstery padding sticking up all over the place. Plus, the edges of the cracks are sharp and pokey on your legs.

That being said, it's likely that modern seat leather is of a better quality, and that the aforementioned super-heated summers also contributed to this particular car's leather falling apart.

You have to condition leather. It's skin. It needs moisturizer.

and it can't puts the lotion on its skin by itself

My friend's used Lexus was almost identical in form and dimension to my old Honda, except... every single feature was slightly better. A little bit updgraded, but not too much. The stereo doesn't have an EQ, but it does have a "mid" knob, for example. The little deals that spray out wiper fluid aren't just ugly little black bumps, the have a little shell that matches the paint job. Little things, but in every area. The engine had two more cylinders, but not too many; just a little more power, but still very decent mileage. I thought it was a very smart car--not a new one, mind you, but an older model with an established track record.

Maybe people would think a lot of kinds of cars are driven by douchebags. But ultimately, there is not a very good rationale (that I know of) behind thinking of a device intended to convey you from point A to point B as a method of garnering favorable opinions--mostly from complete strangers which you will never, ever meet!

The Lexus, let me tell you, it had zero wind noise (or engine noise, for that matter). Absolute, total silence in the cabin of that vehicle. This is called "luxury" and it is the reason that luxury vehicles aren't just over-priced regular cars with a fancy name slapped on. They are considered better because they are actually manufactured with components of superior quality.

So why care what people (strangers, mostly) think (being jealous, probably) because you are driving a--literally--better car. If you can afford it, get the best car you want. FUCK everybody else and their opinion--which can be shoved squarely up their ass. In MY opinion.



ETA:
I guess if we carry this thinking to its logical conclusion, we should all get bad haircuts and wear shitty clothes. I mean, someone might think we're a douche if we actually had nice things, or whatever. WHO. FUCKING. CARES.

Not everyone driving a Lexus or BMW is a douchebag, it's just certain brands have a disproportionate share. The problem is not that the douchebags think they're better than everyone else, who gives a shit what they think.
The problem is the way they treat other motorists, racing ahead and cutting people off at a merge, taking two parking spots or worse double parking, all those things that make driving a frustrating experience for most people.

Right, well that's the person, not the car.

I mean, obviously.

Arguing that there is a statistical basis for making an assumption about the person is a weak argument.

Certainly it's the driver, the car has no say... unless it's a Google car.:haha:

I taught English to some Lexus workers, and lots of Toyota workers.

To get a job at Lexus, you must first work at Toyota for a few years - I think three. Regular Toyota workers get retrained and retested every month. As a fictionalised example, if you consistently place your components within the specified 2 mm tolerance, you can keep working at Toyota. If you consistently nail it right in the middle, within a 0.5 mm tolerance, you can apply to transfer to Lexus. Even then it is competitive, and there will be ongoing retraining.

If you watch their commercials carefully, you might wonder if they are actively targeting the douchebag market.

Yeah, they're saying if you're better than everyone else drive this.

I think you can tell a lot about a person based on their choice of car

I'm driving a '92 Honda Accord. In theory anyway. I should be driving it later this week.

What does that say about me?

What would it say about me if I denied that I riced the shit out of it?

Unfortunately, that says you are invisible.

The reality is that you didn't choose that car. Fate put it in your path. Its a reliable means of transportation, and you have bigger fish to fry.

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