That's all I have to say about that.

 

I think times are changing as more people have access to nicer stuff for cheaper costs. I remember in the early 1980s it was never even a consideration of even having access to a car that was not a mainstream brand. $5 Starbucks was never even a thought. Nor was the idea of $1000 cell phones and $100 per mo bills. (Maybe I am incorrect)

 

The "nicer stuff" is relative. Yes you can buy a luxury branded car for much cheaper today with these downmarket luxury cars, but you aren't getting a product that is itself actually nicer, you're getting access to a brand image. If you want the stuff that is actually really good, you still gotta pay. Companies have cashed in on people who want the brand image by bringing that price floor lower. You can buy a CLA or GLA or GLB or a 1 Series or an X1 or a UX, but in reality those cars are no better than what you could buy from a mainstream manufacturer...really not even as good.

Cell phones are really expensive today, but when you think about how people dont buy laptops or computers and they dont buy TVs and the primary way a lot of younger people consume entertainment is on their phone, then that cost doesnt seem so out of line. I paid $7,000 for a TV one time. People today aren't spending $1,000 on a TV. Think about stereo equipment. My Dad had a great Kenwood Stereo set that my mom still has. People don't do that anymore.

I do agree that better quality exists for cheaper. Good example of this is food. Used to be there were no high quality fast food options. There was McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, etc. Today though you can buy a ton of really high quality, affordable fast food options. Chick Fil A, Chipotle, Cava, it goes on and on. In my mall theres a fast food place that sells Steak Frites!

One thing that gets out of hand is monthly bills. Everybody wants to bill me monthly for crap. How many streaming services do I need? I have to pay monthly now for Microsoft Office. If I want to remote start my cars I have to pay $20 a month for that...

 

I do agree that it is relative. There were some car brands that were in the middle between the German and mainstream...Saab, Pontiac and Mercury along with Olds were sort of nicer than cheap but not as nice as top end Mercedes or Cadillac. I also remember Toyota had some pretty high quality stuff in the Supra and MR2 the Supra had adaptive variable suspension at some point. Mercedes and BMW seemed inaccessible at that time and you either needed to be a doctor or lawyer Maybe I just remember wrong.

You are right that people do not spend on the top end stereo stuff...so the money is spent in other areas. . I still have some of my legacy stereo stuff from the early 1990s...I always liked the Pioneer Elite brand back then...all Made in Japan and my BOSE speakers were made in Canada. Wow $3000 for a receiver back then

Good point on the food. I recall Pizza Hut when it was just a sit down with a salad bar...Wendy’s had a salad bar too.

 

LOL, I would definitely have a fleet of cars, mostly stuff I always wanted and would need some kind of building to store them in if I won 700mil or 20mil. They would be mostly used though, I am not crazy about a lot of new cars aside from a few and not everything would be all that fancy or expensive like a 300ZXtt, 4th Gen Supra tt, 1st Gen NSX, XK8 coupe, Smokey Trans Am, Knight Rider Trans Am, DB9, etc. A Veyron, Chiron, and Bentley would be in there too though, not sure about a Rolls.

 

A nice car, bought for the "wrong" reasons may not buy you real happiness, BUT I'm sure a crappy car will make you sad once in a while... haha

 

I definitely had that experience, my Eclipse was not a crappy car, I liked it when it was reliable but the last few years of having various issues, the trans go out, having to replace the engine, then it over heating because the people who installed the new engine didn't do a good job led to some moments of sitting on the couch alone, depressed, thinking what am I going to do about this unreliable car that is costing me a lot of money I don't have and what might happen next.

 

I’m out here in the cold grilling ribeyes by the way

 

Are you happy out there?

 

Its ****ing freezing! Happiness is near though!

 

Lolz better it to use cast iron pan to cook your ribeye eh its 80 degree here nice and warm lolz don’t forget to put a few thin slices of butter when u done cooking your steak while it resting

 

I have a special herbed butter I use!

 

Sear them in a cast iron pan and then put them in the oven to finish cooking, they will taste just as good if not better then grilling them.

 

I can confirm, Ribeyes do make me happy.

My issue is I don’t have a good hood vent, so my house always fills up with smoke when I do that. Not worth listening to my wife complain lol.

 

Homemade or bought?