Interesting study

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.

@tablejockey ...*G* Actually, I’m in your corner on F1 drives. But here in NC, if it’s not NASCAR, dirt bikes, or 4WD anything (preferably with a fresh splash of mud on the flanks)....there must be something wrong with you.....!
I’ve been a fan of rally cars, GPrix, and the like forever.
Used to enjoy going to the Lions drags back in my L.B. ’wasted youth’ era, just to enjoy the ’heat blast’ of the AA fuelers whip by....*reverie*sigh*
Used to ride bikes too, but these days my skin comes off too easily...and the blood thinners make me look like I’m going to die....

*blood dripping down the arm, hitting the floor* ARE YOU OK?!

"Oh...it’s nothing...just dumping some excess...."
(5 minutes later, I’ve clotted, minor elbow scrape....one gets used to it...)

I just want Block’s car in ’street guise’ and only ’slightly tame’....;)

Ever heard of a ’Q ship’?

Channel Jan & Dean’s "Little Old Lady From Pasadena"....

There was an old ratty VW ’bug’ that looked like it started life as a factory second and had gone downhill afterwards....Literally had gone down a hill.
It wasn’t real obvious that it had a 911S engine of the era in it.

The driver in the next lane would laugh...until the tire smoke cleared from his eyes that had become like white platters with a dot in the middle...;)

As a person who has spent his life studying psychology and sociology, with the specialty, Sociology of Mental Illness, I am drawn to this phrase from the article about that study:  “These are people who often see themselves as superior and are keen to display this to others.”   BUT!  They want to see see themselves as superior... and keen to display.  Guess what?  They do not see themselves as superior.  They are trying to be noticed as superior, but really know they are not what they want to be.  To get noticed, they must continually prove to themselves that their cars are something special, so that you notice and think the driver must therefore be special.  As the study points out, many people who driver great cars simply like quality.  These people are not driven by a desire to prove anything, so they drive normally. Too many tweakettes fall into the same category, by obsessing on proving to themselves how special they are, when they could be listening to and enjoying great music.