Luxury is the New Normal
I will cut right to the chase. I’m not normal. I have a disease that few people understand. To you, that might sound terrible. To me, it isn’t so much. My disease is called being a car enthusiast. Now, before you close the page, just hang on there. We aren’t going to talk about that today. See… I spend so much time talking about stuff that the majority of people don’t care about. The truth is, that many of the articles I write on The Unlimited Driver cater to people like me. Even the ones that I write for the “everyday driver” usually end up having my own personal injection of the “opinions of Shawn”. That means that I go off on something about the feel, look, or facets of a car that are essentially irrelevant to those just looking for some information. Today, that’s going to be different.
While I spend my time thinking about everything that’s wrong with the automotive industry today, cringing over the fact that cars don’t have character anymore, the real fact of the matter is that there has never been a better time in automotive history to own a car. Even if you own a used car, the same can be said of your vehicle.
Technology has progressed to the point where modern cars are safer and smarter than ever before. I’ve talked before about the amount of features and equipment available on many vehicles today. While there is something to be said about too much equipment on some vehicles, that also brings the rest of the field up to par. Even the most rudimentary of models anyone can buy today comes with its fair share of equipment.
I did a quick search of new cars in my area under $15,000. A new car for under $15,000? Absolutely! I found one model, a Ford Focus S, listed for sale for a price of $12,630 after all rebates and incentives. For a brand new car today, that’s a legitimately great price, but what’s included in all of that? You may think that for such a low price, you get an engine with a box around it. Compared to a new BMW or Mercedes, you may think of it that way, but a box is a distant comparison here. This particular car has a backup camera, electronic stability control, and sync with Applink. Oh yeah… the car is also EPA rated at a combined 32 miles per gallon of gas.
You may look at that and laugh, thinking that I am a moron for listing things that you can literally get on every other car. To that, I will look at you, laugh, and point out that just five years ago, some of even the most basic features I just listed were not available on every car. Certainly, a backup camera and even a basic infotainment system was unheard of in a base model Ford Focus, let alone multiple other models. It also may seem like five years is a long time. Well, we may agree to disagree there as well, but five years really isn’t that long.
Let’s take this a step farther. Just say that you want a Ford Focus, but you would never stoop to the level of getting a base model… That’s fine, but let’s look at what the Focus has when you get it in a higher trim level. Of course you can get a Focus RS, but that is a bit different, and it’s expensive for a different reason. We are going to look at the Ford Focus Titanium. It’s the highest trim level that you can get on a Focus before you get into the ST and RS models. Those are specifically designed to be the enthusiasts’ choices.
According to Ford, the 2017 Focus Titanium starts at $23,575, very reasonable considering that the average price of a car today is around $27,000-28,000. With rebates, you can get even lower on the MSRP for the Focus. I would also venture to say, with reasonable certainty, that most people would consider the Ford Focus to be a pretty average car. So what can you get for an average car for a below average vehicle cost?
For starters, there is available lane keep assist and a blind spot and cross-traffic monitoring system. You will find welcome interior creature comforts like heated front leather seats, SYNC 3 with an 8 inch HD display, and a very good Sony audio system. On top of that, you can get a voice activated navigation system. Of course you also get some of the more regularly found options on most cars today like a sunroof, remote start, and push button start with a smart key.
All that said, I’m not sure anybody would really say that for the average person, any of those things would make the Focus an uncomfortable car or not very well equipped. That’s only on the inside. As for the exterior, even though xenon or HID headlights aren’t available for the Focus, LED daytime running lights, heated mirrors, and active park assist all add the finishing touches to a car that you probably see multiple times a day.
What is the point of all this? The point is that there has been an increasing demand for sophistication and quality that has spilled over into everyday life. This is very much because of the advances in technology and the increased demand for equality. Whether you think that’s a good thing or a bad thing in other areas of life, we are talking about the automotive industry. For most people, that’s a great thing! That means that the Ford Focus Titanium is now comparable to a base level Mercedes or BMW.
I say that with the understanding that the comparison may be rooted in a tad bit of illusion. Of course a $23,000 Ford Focus is not really comparable to a $45,000 BMW 2 series, but the gap between the two models has become so that they are within earshot of each other. Features only previously available in luxury model car brands are spreading like the flu. I would even venture to say that a person with little knowledge of cars may misidentify a “non-premium” brand car interior if the badges were to be removed. In some cases, I would also argue that the exterior may show the same results to a lesser extent. I promise you that I’m not crazy. I recently watched a review of the new Mazda CX-5 from one of the large names in the automotive review business. They praised the interior of the Mazda, and said exactly what I just did. In fact, they reached as far as to suggest that Mazda has broken into the “premium-brand” car club.
For a company of such magnitude to give praise like that, it is going to be a big deal. There will always be exceptions, and there will always be those untouchable brands like Maybach, Bentley, and others that take luxury to a whole new level. Like it or not though, the gap is closing. The playing field has become more competitive. If you are the type that needs to have the name, I will never be able to sway you from buying your BMW or Mercedes. For everyone else, if you want to have that BMW without dishing out all the cash, you should just run over to your friendly neighborhood Honda, Mazda, or Ford dealer. I promise that you will find something even better. You’ll find a BMW, Mercedes, or Infiniti from a different manufacturer, all for the price of a Honda Accord.
–SWF
