SLegacy99

And if there is gas rationing?

newr

pay $10/g to the guy who is willing to sell and make a $5/gal profit?

UberNoob

i think ppl are worried because it is finally hitting that $100 per full fill up mark
that has quite a bit of psychological impact on the way people think about budgeting

DustinV

You'd be surprised. There are indeed people out there that do care about gas prices. Not all wealthy people are ignorant. There are many wealthy people who came from poor families and made it big - and these people know the value of money and have never forgotten where they came from.

Take my boss for example. Grew up as a poor kid in Germany after World War II, made it big and is now a millionaire (I assume). What does he drive? A Volkswagen Passat 2.0 TDI A/T. I am not kidding. He could easily afford a supercar if he wanted too, or an M or AMG etc.

This isn't supposed to be a generalization, but there are indeed wealthy people out there to whom every dime counts.

Mixman

Nah, as I said earlier, it's totally the economy. I work with millionaire brokers in commercial real estate. They are worried. Sales are down big time. They live totally on commissions, no sales then no big lifestyle, including luxury cars, and yachts. Gas mileage is the least of their concerns, a decent sized boat is worse than any car is far as gas is concerned and most are not quite ready to sell the boats yet, although some are taking them out less.

RX300-BV

That may not be bad comparing AWD to AWD models, but at least the other luxury makers have RWD's to offer with higher fuel economy for those who don't want or need AWD. With the RL, SH-AWD is your only option.

darkdream

I agree with you...

people get too many notions and such that rich people spend frivolously; however, a majority of the truly rich watch their money closely...
our society usually focuses on the ones who spend, spend, and spend like celebrities (funny thing is many borrow the jewelry they wear on the big events, because they simply wouldn't be able to afford it)

RON430

First off I am fascinated by this notion that S class buyers make $400,000/wk. You can lease an S around here for slightly more than $1K/mo. Yes, that is a respectable amount of money but it doesn't take B. Gates resources to afford. A lot of the people that could use easy credit through a lease or home equity line are finding it more difficult and that isn't going to help. I suspect some of that is going on although who knows how much.

It is interesting looking at what you choose to buy for a car when you can pretty much afford whatever you want. One thing I have found to mean more and more is value. Lexus ranks very high in that regard. Not as much as they once were, but still very good. Don't bother posting all the Lexus prices in relation to everything else, everyone here knows all the numbers. But when you can afford pretty much whatever you want, the value proposition can become more significant. A lot of people with large checking accounts aren't swimming in all resources. Money ends up being less of a challenge than time and often a car is a way to get from A to B, not much else. One of the wealthiest people I know is also a VW fan, don't know why that is?

The S class is a fine car. Easily the head of its class. You can be a fan of the LS, and it wouldn't be unexpected here, but the S is that much better from the drivers standpoint IMO. But when I pull up and put 60 or $75 in a tank of gas, I start thinking about the value I get for dumping that gas in. Most of my commute is in city stop and go or congested freeway sub 30mph crawl. I write the check once for the car but I see that gas going in every few days and you start thinking about what value is returned for that expenditure. And I don't like the value I get for the gas burned in my GS.

For you guys that are still in study hall, endulge your fantasies all you want. You grow up sooner or later and things get different. To tell you the truth, considering the price of the S, the price of gas, and the economy in general, I am a little surprised its sales are holding up as well as they are. For a newer car, the percentage drop in sales for the LS is more dramatic than the S. But thus far, none of the car mfrs has felt like coming out and saying why they think sales are falling and what they intend to do about it. It is evident that the mfrs in the luxury/sport sedan end are pretty much thinking that gas will drop, the economy will perk up, real estate will bottom, and they can get back to business as usual. That means $100K+ 375hp+ cars that get 15mpg for the usual suspects. If they're wrong, well, marketeers get paid to make lemonade out of lemons. They'll just spin it some more. Got real serious about the S not long ago but the way things are going, I may go downmarket quite a bit myself. I don't have to advertise to anyone what my financial accomplishments are and the value returned for the costs of the big hardward just don't do it for me much anymore.

Lsportline43

I guess you're right. Acura is not headed in the right direction in terms of fuel economy. Well for their flagship car anyways. I think it would be a good idea for Acura to either make a RWD or FWD RL that would have better fuel economy for those that did not require/want AWD. Or maybe have a bank of cylinders shut down to increase fuel economy on the highway. Don't they do that with the new Honda Pilot?

It's odd because Honda/Acura are generally superior or on par with fuel economy compared to the competition...

SLegacy99

They've had hybrid system a lot longer that MB, BMW, Audi, Caddy. No reason not to utilize that other than stupidity.

doug_999

Bravo Ron, Bravo....

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

The thread title is about 'wealthy' people. VERY few people make $400K a week (or nearly $21 MILLION a year). I think 'wealthy' covers a broader range than that and s-class buyers!

ISF_GG

iTrader: (2)

I was merely refering to a wealthy individual that I know personally, and the fact that he doesn't really care about the price of gas at nearly $5/gallon. He has many cars, but not any MB's surprisingly.

ISF_GG

iTrader: (2)

So you expect gas rationing? Do tell us about it. I personally don't see that kind of shortage in gas occuring anytime soon.

SLegacy99

I don't expect it. But then no one expected it before. And all of these SUVs on the road suggests that we didn't learn from our mistakes the first time.