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There are generally 3types of car buyers today. 1. People who are into cars as status items (which encompasses car enthusiasts, because lets be real, very few

There are generally 3types of car buyers today. 1. People who are into cars as status items (which encompasses car enthusiasts, because lets be real, very few of those people who are into "performance" even touch 50% of the cars capability on public roads). This is your BMW/Porsche and other buyers. 2. People who want cheap modes of transportation. This is your cheapest level sedan buyers. 3. People who want specific utility and are willing to pay for it. This is the largest group of buyers that ranges from people wanting the convenience/novelty/technology of an electric vehicle, to people who want the safety/robustness/cargo capacity of a pickup truck. Apple car would definitely fit in here.

theluketaylor 3y ago
Your categories are largely correct, but #1 is way bigger than you think and not just about performance (unless it's the performance of being seen owning the car). For example, most pickup trucks are status symbols and lifestyle choices, not purely for function. If they were purely for function most of them would be transit vans. Apple car would have absolutely been a pickup truck-like status symbol for highly urban people.
freeone3000 3y ago
Apple cars would aim more for the (1) bracket than the (3). Apple products are status items. Same particular utility can be had much cheaper.
- ActorNightly 3y ago
  In order to be in 1, Apple car has to be a complete package with performance as well. While Apple can build an electric car, you can't outsource design of something that feels sporty.
- dublinben 3y ago
  How can Apple products be status items when over 60% of smartphones in the US are iPhones? Is Coca-Cola a status item? Is it possible that they're just good products that deliver good value to the majority of people who buy them? Is a $1300 Galaxy S24 Ultra not a status item?
  - ClumsyPilot 3y ago
    > How can Apple products be status items when over 60% of smartphones in the US are iPhones? How can an official suit and tie be a status item if most men have one? How can a good beard be a status item if it grows for free?
    - zuhsetaqi 3y ago
      I wouldn’t say a general suit and/or tie are a status item. Maybe if it’s a expensive one. A beard definitely isn’t a status item. That’s like saying black hair are a status item
  - j0ba 3y ago
    https://nypost.com/2023/12/28/lifestyle/android-users-less-attractive-than-iphone-owners-women-say/ https://nypost.com/2023/12/28/lifestyle/android-users-less-a... Hmm good question
  - jojobas 3y ago
    "I spent 50-200% more on an item of similar utility" is a status statement, even if every other guy can afford it. Bonus points for a new iphone every time one is released. You can make your own conclusions about people who are affected by such status statements.
  - pjc50 3y ago
    > How can Apple products be status items when over 60% of smartphones in the US are iPhones? This is an incredible achievement of Apple marketing.
kube-system 3y ago
> 1. People who are into cars as status items (which encompasses car enthusiasts, because lets be real, very few of those people who are into "performance" even touch 50% of the cars capability on public roads). This is your BMW/Porsche and other buyers. I don't disagree with what you're probably trying to say here, but I disagree with how you're stating it. First, "car enthusiast" != "performance enthusiast". There are plenty of people who like cars for reasons other than going fast, and sub-interests in the car enthusiast community that are not performance oriented. Second, people who actually do enjoy the art of performance driving don't have to do it on the road. There are hundreds of thousands of people in the US that have driven on race tracks. Third, there are certainly performance cars that people do take to the limits on the streets, often in violation of some traffic rules. Not every performance car is a 911 GT3. Probably a very high percentage of Miata owners have approached cornering limits on the street on cloverleafs.
- ActorNightly 3y ago
  There are an extremely small number of car enthusiasts that are in it because they like working with their hands to make performance mods to try stuff. The rest is all about status. I know this because I used to be solidly in the car world back in the early 2000s , my friend from college had an Integra Type R that he raced in the Honda Challenge that we both tracked and worked on, and I got to experience pretty much all of car culture first hand. People who are into modifications for power to roll race on the street do it solidly just to show off how much money they can spend. People who drive "hard" on the street really arent even close to performance capabilities of their car. Give me most any ~250 hp sedan, no matter which wheel drive, Ill redo the suspension and stick on good tires, and I can keep up with any 911 on twisty roads. The culture in this regard is pretty evident because I will be seen as a poser if I do this. As for the track, there is a separate subculture that happens at the track. Sure there is a minority out there to just have fun in their regular cars, most everybody including them are oogling the expensive track toys, and nobody is paying attention to actual driving skill of the people. At one point and time, a husband and his wife pulled up with a mobile home towing a garage with 2 Ferrari Challenge cars, with the entire setup costing more than I have ever made in my entire life even now 10 years later, and of course they were not any faster around the track, but they were the stars of that day. Racing series are also literally about who can spend the most money, until you cross the bridge of being good enough to run sponsors. Not even on the car parts either, for example, we would camp at the track, while other people would pull up in their trailer homes and get a much better night sleep with AC, which gives a huge advantage come racing.

theluketaylor 3y ago

Your categories are largely correct, but #1 is way bigger than you think and not just about performance (unless it's the performance of being seen owning the car). For example, most pickup trucks are status symbols and lifestyle choices, not purely for function. If they were purely for function most of them would be transit vans. Apple car would have absolutely been a pickup truck-like status symbol for highly urban people.

freeone3000 3y ago

Apple cars would aim more for the (1) bracket than the (3). Apple products are status items. Same particular utility can be had much cheaper.

ActorNightly 3y ago
In order to be in 1, Apple car has to be a complete package with performance as well. While Apple can build an electric car, you can't outsource design of something that feels sporty.
dublinben 3y ago
How can Apple products be status items when over 60% of smartphones in the US are iPhones? Is Coca-Cola a status item? Is it possible that they're just good products that deliver good value to the majority of people who buy them? Is a $1300 Galaxy S24 Ultra not a status item?
- ClumsyPilot 3y ago
  > How can Apple products be status items when over 60% of smartphones in the US are iPhones? How can an official suit and tie be a status item if most men have one? How can a good beard be a status item if it grows for free?
  - zuhsetaqi 3y ago
    I wouldn’t say a general suit and/or tie are a status item. Maybe if it’s a expensive one. A beard definitely isn’t a status item. That’s like saying black hair are a status item
- j0ba 3y ago
  https://nypost.com/2023/12/28/lifestyle/android-users-less-attractive-than-iphone-owners-women-say/ https://nypost.com/2023/12/28/lifestyle/android-users-less-a... Hmm good question
- jojobas 3y ago
  "I spent 50-200% more on an item of similar utility" is a status statement, even if every other guy can afford it. Bonus points for a new iphone every time one is released. You can make your own conclusions about people who are affected by such status statements.
- pjc50 3y ago
  > How can Apple products be status items when over 60% of smartphones in the US are iPhones? This is an incredible achievement of Apple marketing.

kube-system 3y ago

> 1. People who are into cars as status items (which encompasses car enthusiasts, because lets be real, very few of those people who are into "performance" even touch 50% of the cars capability on public roads). This is your BMW/Porsche and other buyers. I don't disagree with what you're probably trying to say here, but I disagree with how you're stating it. First, "car enthusiast" != "performance enthusiast". There are plenty of people who like cars for reasons other than going fast, and sub-interests in the car enthusiast community that are not performance oriented. Second, people who actually do enjoy the art of performance driving don't have to do it on the road. There are hundreds of thousands of people in the US that have driven on race tracks. Third, there are certainly performance cars that people do take to the limits on the streets, often in violation of some traffic rules. Not every performance car is a 911 GT3. Probably a very high percentage of Miata owners have approached cornering limits on the street on cloverleafs.

ActorNightly 3y ago
There are an extremely small number of car enthusiasts that are in it because they like working with their hands to make performance mods to try stuff. The rest is all about status. I know this because I used to be solidly in the car world back in the early 2000s , my friend from college had an Integra Type R that he raced in the Honda Challenge that we both tracked and worked on, and I got to experience pretty much all of car culture first hand. People who are into modifications for power to roll race on the street do it solidly just to show off how much money they can spend. People who drive "hard" on the street really arent even close to performance capabilities of their car. Give me most any ~250 hp sedan, no matter which wheel drive, Ill redo the suspension and stick on good tires, and I can keep up with any 911 on twisty roads. The culture in this regard is pretty evident because I will be seen as a poser if I do this. As for the track, there is a separate subculture that happens at the track. Sure there is a minority out there to just have fun in their regular cars, most everybody including them are oogling the expensive track toys, and nobody is paying attention to actual driving skill of the people. At one point and time, a husband and his wife pulled up with a mobile home towing a garage with 2 Ferrari Challenge cars, with the entire setup costing more than I have ever made in my entire life even now 10 years later, and of course they were not any faster around the track, but they were the stars of that day. Racing series are also literally about who can spend the most money, until you cross the bridge of being good enough to run sponsors. Not even on the car parts either, for example, we would camp at the track, while other people would pull up in their trailer homes and get a much better night sleep with AC, which gives a huge advantage come racing.