Hmm, I get the feeling your friend has less financial resources than you do so he's trying to impress you and communicate to you, you two are equals, while you

Hmm, I get the feeling your friend has less financial resources than you do so he's trying to impress you and communicate to you, you two are equals, while you figured out quite transparently he was trying to impress you, as you know your friend well enough, and so, weren't that impressed. It's natural for people who have "less" to try to impress friends who have "more", because people are generally friends with people who are similar, and people generally want to stay friends with their friends, so they try to de-emphasise the difference between them. I think that may explain the "boast" about cars. I put no judgement on the scenario, I'm stating my observations, and of course I don't know if true or not in reality - it's only based on the words you've written.