>The purchase of a Rolex or Ferrari - or an incredibly overpriced sound system - is an attempt to buy a signal to others that you have taste. In fact you’re sig

>The purchase of a Rolex or Ferrari - or an incredibly overpriced sound system - is an attempt to buy a signal to others that you have taste. In fact you’re signaling how much your lack of taste is costing you. Pretty much. Which is why some of the biggest growing markets for these dusty luxury brands have been Middle East, Russia and China where a lot of newly minted millionaires (through means of questionable legality) come from, and is why so many brands, like BMW, have made their designs so opulent, ghastly and hideous, because that's what sells in China and the Chinese are buying more BMWs than Germans so their market gets to decide what a luxury car should look like.