> The wealthiest Europeans I know drive the cheapest vehicles

That may well be true of the people you know, but in general the relationship is exactly what one would expect: the higher people's income, the more expensive their car purchases.

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/economic-bulletin/articles/2...

Full paper: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/economic-bulletin/articles/2...

However, there is another factor at play, which is that people who are more image conscious drive nicer cars at the same level of income/wealth, and in my experience, people who are more image conscious also tend to act more like jerks.

Thanks for sharing data. I suspect this effect is heavily stratified across demographics.

After a point, how much someone chooses to spend on their car is about their values more than their wealth.

I once lived in a street with many parked cars worth almost as much the houses of their owners. They were clearly bought (well, financed) as status symbols. I now live in a more affluent, desirable area where the cars are much more modest despite higher wealth and social status of their owners (doctors, scientists etc).

That's income, not wealth though. Some wealthy people don't have very high incomes.

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