> Then, break the bank on marketing (which is all luxury brands really are anyway these days.) Maybe to the layperson, but enthusiasts can easily spot the diff

> Then, break the bank on marketing (which is all luxury brands really are anyway these days.) Maybe to the layperson, but enthusiasts can easily spot the differences between a VW and an Audi and are happy to pay (or not) for it. And no, just because VW and Audi share the MQB platform does not mean they are the same cars. The most notable difference being how VW purposefully gimped their infotainment system so as not to cannibalize Audi sales. There are other obvious differences in terms of build quality and choice of materials (and sometimes they just throw in a new engine, like the RS variants). I would love to have a 5 cylinder engine, and no affordable car is offering that. > the hellcat. Its not even in the top 20 fastest cars, and most importantly its a loss leader with custom engine work, custom drivetrain, custom paint, etc...that is shared by no model. It's a drag car, and it's very good at what it was built for. I would never buy a drag car, but I know people that do. If you want a RWD drag car, the Hellcat Redeye is a favorite amongst enthusiasts, and many pay the high asking price for it. The part you're missing is these people buy the car for the engine, so it has to have a custom engine. Naturally aspirated engines are just more fun because they don't have turbo lag and they make an amazing sound that can't be replicated by a 4-banger. Porsche got ridiculed for making a more fuel efficient Cayman using a 4 cylinder engine, and had to go back to offering a larger naturally aspirated version that really doesn't make the car much faster (it doesn't even make more torque) but it does make it more enjoyable. People are paying tens of thousands of dollars more just for the larger engine. https://www.motortrend.com/cars/porsche/718-cayman/2020/2020-porsche-718-cayman-gt4-first-drive-review/ https://www.motortrend.com/cars/porsche/718-cayman/2020/2020... > people want reliable cars with good gas mileage and good performance like the Ford Focus and its ST counterpart which were well executed. Most people do, but enthusiasts don't. You really can't talk about the two groups as though they're the same, because they almost never want the same things. Once you stop building cars for enthusiasts you end up in Nissan's position (although merging with Renault is definitely the main culprit of their downfall). https://youtu.be/q3_2R5bmFbk https://youtu.be/q3_2R5bmFbk > Fast forward to 2015 and the auto industry learned bupkis from their crow dinner at congress begging for handouts in 2008. Now that's something we can agree on.