Interesting study

Love the progressive shifter....40 sets of tires to shoot that....;)

"I have a lot more trouble with the pick up drivers..."

It probably depends on the country, but I do notice Nissan/Infinity drivers to be the most aggressive/risky in their driving style. At least in North America.

I'll address a few things mentioned-

My first choice is Made in USA stuff but unfortunately, if we're talkin "regular" cars, they just don't compare to a Hyundai, Nissan etc. GM's cars are still behind after having plenty of time to catch up. 

I travel a bit with work, and any time I rent a domestic car-they are inferior to their Asian counterparts. Sad. 
My 13 year old F150 with 210K however, runs like a clock. 

I cant tell you how many times I've had great,  stoplight chats with guys in Ferraris or Lambo's, while on my $6K bicycle(i'm on of those freaks)
For the most part, it's  all about the "vibe" one projects, while battling SoCal madness.

I can't think of ANY friends who even have a stereo in their home. This includes well heeled-only a big screen and the wall speakers.

I'm near the end of boomer generation(1962) The majority of my generation could care less about a stereo. 
Once in awhile, one of the unenlightened get a listen, and you can see the wow look on their face. When they find out the cost of admission, it changes.

I think they're more concerned about their health insurance premiums/deductible, paying off the house note,and 401K!

I just don't get the drifting thing? The smell of tires  and smoke is awfuI. I just don't find any entertainmient value in it? Reminds me of a silly action movie. I dig F1, drag racing. Oh well, to each his own.

Every now and then, it gets suggested on these threads that some people buy expensive audio equipment to impress others. Is there really such a crowd?

Similar approach seems to follow the owners of expensive cars. That they want to be seen, impress others, etc. That is probably true for some, but great number of such drivers bought their cars simply because they like them.

Our sales manager loves to point out that "no sees the size of your bank account, but everyone sees your car".  I do think an awful lot of that goes into people buying cars.

Now, the criticism that audio nuts buy expensive gear to impress others has also struck me as highly questionable.  Very, very few people get down to my basement bastion to see or hear my stereo, because they just don't really care about it.  What I buy is truly for me.  Always has been since I first started earning dough with a paper route - - the money I can spare has gone into the best stereo I can enjoy.  Sadly, only a few friends really want to sit and listen to music as a focused experience.