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Most people who own cars can't afford fun or fashionable ones, or don't choose to allocate their budgets that way. SF is a distorted perspective: car ownership

Most people who own cars can't afford fun or fashionable ones, or don't choose to allocate their budgets that way. SF is a distorted perspective: car ownership is unnecessary, so the only cars you see are those owned voluntarily. I was struck by how new and expensive all the cars on the road looked when I lived there this summer. In Chicago, the overwhelming majority of the cars I walk by are 10-year-old beige econoboxes. Luxury cars may be around for the long haul, but I suspect cars of necessity will not.

Swizec 11y ago
> I was struck by how new and expensive all the cars on the road looked when I lived there this summer. That has less to do with "we don't need a car so we're only going to buy fancy" but with how affluent SF is. The quality of cars on the road directly correlates to how wealthy a neighbourhood or town or country is. I was in Luxemburg two years ago. A brand new BMW 3 series was downright pedestrian. I don't think I've ever seen so many fancy cars in one area as I did there. SF by comparison, is a shitshow of crappy cars. You can see this effect if you drive down the peninsula. SF has normal cars, south SF has old beat up cars, then the fanciness of cars waxes and wanes, until you reach the general Palo Alto area where there's a shitload of Teslas and other fancy cars. Even Maseratis are relatively normal. And then you go further south and the quality of cars starts dropping again. But what you will see rarely in the Bay Area are supercars like Lamborghini, Ferrari and such. I don't know why, but I would venture it's got to do with the fact that most people use their cars for commuting and supercars are terrible commuters. Or maybe the Bay Area just isn't affluent enough for those kinds of cars.
- nopinsight 11y ago
  I suspect it has to do with the culture of not showing off. Most of the tech multimillionaires probably do not care as much about such vanities as their reputation and/or impact on the world and therefore has better use for their money. Anyone with actual knowledge of the matter please chime in. ;)
  - superuser2 11y ago
    Alternate theories: - There are actually only a small handful of tech multimillionaires. - The sufficiently rich have enclosed garages and don't drive very much. - The truly rich prefer to live in the suburbs.

Swizec 11y ago

> I was struck by how new and expensive all the cars on the road looked when I lived there this summer. That has less to do with "we don't need a car so we're only going to buy fancy" but with how affluent SF is. The quality of cars on the road directly correlates to how wealthy a neighbourhood or town or country is. I was in Luxemburg two years ago. A brand new BMW 3 series was downright pedestrian. I don't think I've ever seen so many fancy cars in one area as I did there. SF by comparison, is a shitshow of crappy cars. You can see this effect if you drive down the peninsula. SF has normal cars, south SF has old beat up cars, then the fanciness of cars waxes and wanes, until you reach the general Palo Alto area where there's a shitload of Teslas and other fancy cars. Even Maseratis are relatively normal. And then you go further south and the quality of cars starts dropping again. But what you will see rarely in the Bay Area are supercars like Lamborghini, Ferrari and such. I don't know why, but I would venture it's got to do with the fact that most people use their cars for commuting and supercars are terrible commuters. Or maybe the Bay Area just isn't affluent enough for those kinds of cars.

nopinsight 11y ago
I suspect it has to do with the culture of not showing off. Most of the tech multimillionaires probably do not care as much about such vanities as their reputation and/or impact on the world and therefore has better use for their money. Anyone with actual knowledge of the matter please chime in. ;)
- superuser2 11y ago
  Alternate theories: - There are actually only a small handful of tech multimillionaires. - The sufficiently rich have enclosed garages and don't drive very much. - The truly rich prefer to live in the suburbs.