quintessential upper middle class vehicles

[Anonymous]

I do not thing there is a typical UMC car. I am UMC (new worth 3 mil, salary 250k) and currently family cars are two Subarus. 25 years ago, with 100k assets and 60k worth, I drove a (leased) BMW 5 series. I am definitely in better financial shape today

[Anonymous]

If there's a TRYING to look UMC vehicle, it's the Lexus GX. At least in my Alexandria stomping grounds.

Amazing to me how many people think an 80k+ vehicle is a good way to spend their money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Totally depends where you live.

Upper MoCo Potomac area: Maserati SUV, Porsche SUV, Mercedes station wagons and SUVs, Teslas

Lower MoCo CC area: Audi SUV (in white - seriously, a billion of these), Volvo SUV, Suburban, BMW SUV

Arlington: high end minivan, Volvo SUV, BMW SUV, Buick SUV

So many Teslas in Arlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Real UMC? BMW, Mercedes, Suburban, Range Rover, Audi,

This, plus Tesla.

And seeing quite a few Porche SUVs.

I'm seeing these all over the place.

[Anonymous]

CR-V hybrid and a Sienna. Earned income is $250k, investment income is around $200k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, Volvos were the ultimate UMC car because only the UMCs bought them. The very rich didn't drive them, but neither did the car devotees from lower incomes yearn for Volvos. The private school carpool lane was dominated by Volvo station wagons. If you drove a Volvo in the 1980s and 1990s it was probably the car that most accurately told people you were definitely upper middle class rather rather than an aspirational person with a lease. The other contender would be the Saabs.

Today people have different relationships with cars so it's not what it was like in the past.

This is so spot-on! The Saab statement.

That's right! My wealthy and cool older cousin who went to Dartmouth drove an old Saab. What happened to Saabs? I assume out of business.

Went out of business maybe 7-8 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a 2007 Prius and a 2020 Rav 4 Hybrid.

Hoping the next car will be all electric, but have a hard time supporting Tesla. So, we are still looking.

Many more choices besides Tesla: On the market now, there's the Volkswagen ID.4, the Audi Q4 e-tron, the Mustang Mach-E, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kona EV, the Kia Niro EV (and soon the Kia EV6), Volvo XC40, Polestar, Nissan Leaf, Chevy Bolt and Bolt EUV... plus new electric models from Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, Mazda, Rivian, more Fords, more Chevys, etc., all coming in the next year or two.

I love my VW ID.4 Pro S. I too have a hard time supporting Musk. The fact that he’s a twit in so many ways matters less to me. DD who does energy policy pointed out that Tesla’s insistence on their own, dedicated chargers has increased costs to charging stations everywhere. Yes, I realize I’m getting somewhat lower range than a comparably priced Tesla, but at 250 miles per charge it totally works for me. And, honestly, I like the ID.4’s crossover styling better than the ubiquitous Teslas at a similar price point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, Volvos were the ultimate UMC car because only the UMCs bought them. The very rich didn't drive them, but neither did the car devotees from lower incomes yearn for Volvos. The private school carpool lane was dominated by Volvo station wagons. If you drove a Volvo in the 1980s and 1990s it was probably the car that most accurately told people you were definitely upper middle class rather rather than an aspirational person with a lease. The other contender would be the Saabs.

Today people have different relationships with cars so it's not what it was like in the past.

This is so spot-on! The Saab statement.

Saabs!! OMG

I always think of Seinfeld for some reason

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HHI about 1.3M. Two Jeeps, a boring Japanese SUV and an old sedan.

Lame

[Anonymous]

HHI top 1% +. BMW X5M and Mercedes SUV.

[Anonymous]

The trend for the really rich white guys in McLean is to buy classic antique cars. Old Jaguar E-Types, old Ferraris, old Shelby Cobras. Why? Because they are expensive and rare and people look at you when you drive one.

[Anonymous]

Vintage Adobe. Spouse drives a 12 year old Subaru.

HHI $612K, NW $2.14M. We live in North Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, Volvos were the ultimate UMC car because only the UMCs bought them. The very rich didn't drive them, but neither did the car devotees from lower incomes yearn for Volvos. The private school carpool lane was dominated by Volvo station wagons. If you drove a Volvo in the 1980s and 1990s it was probably the car that most accurately told people you were definitely upper middle class rather rather than an aspirational person with a lease. The other contender would be the Saabs.

Today people have different relationships with cars so it's not what it was like in the past.

This is so spot-on! The Saab statement.

Saabs!! OMG

I always think of Seinfeld for some reason

Ah, the good old days of Saabs. I loved my Saab and kept it for a few years after the company went out of business, until it finally died. I have two friends who drove Saabs back in the day. All UMC.