Which cars are classy these days?
Discussion
tomic said:
Some years ago you might have looked at a Mercedes E Class Estate or a Range Rover and thought it was a classy looking motor and the owner was probably a person of taste.
When you say "classy", are you asking what cars are an indicator of wealth?I don't think cars are much of an indicator of wealth or status in 2017. You'd have to go back in the 1980s or 1990s before leasing became popular, and when company cars were still a direct corollary to wealth and status. I think Ford was the first manufacturer to popularise PCP with the "Options" plan which launched in 1992.
A battered Legacy or Merc W124 could be owned by a rich landowner, or it could be owned by an impoverished cheapskate. Probably easier to tell class by someone's accent, or watch, or shoes or whatever.
Personally I think that there is something fairly classy when the number plate is conspicuously more valuable that the car. Think in terms of things like Fiat 500s, BMW i3s, VW Polos (not GTi) or Skodas with 3 digit plates on them (all in sober colours and bog stock trim naturally). Other than that I personally think that it is pretty difficult to make a brand new modern car classy, and you really have to fall back on classics...
spreadsheet monkey said:
Nice looking street, and nice Volvo and Landie, but what about the Pug 206 and Lexus RX on the other side of the street? Are they "classy"?
No, I wouldn't say they are, would you? To clarify, I just meant it was quite a classy street in the sense that two of the cars frequently mentioned on here as being classy were somewhat conincendtally parked next to one another. The Land Rover is a particularly nice looking (to my untrained eyes) example which I walk past faily often.
I think these are pretty classy
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
If you dont want to click - dark blue clk 63amg
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...
If you dont want to click - dark blue clk 63amg
Edited by joshcowin on Monday 27th February 17:12
spreadsheet monkey said:
When you say "classy", are you asking what cars are an indicator of wealth?
I don't think cars are much of an indicator of wealth or status in 2017. You'd have to go back in the 1980s or 1990s before leasing became popular, and when company cars were still a direct corollary to wealth and status. I think Ford was the first manufacturer to popularise PCP with the "Options" plan which launched in 1992.
A battered Legacy or Merc W124 could be owned by a rich landowner, or it could be owned by an impoverished cheapskate. Probably easier to tell class by someone's accent, or watch, or shoes or whatever.
It sounds like you're using "social class" and/or wealth as an indicator of whether or not something or someone is classy. That's obviously fine but it is quite different to how I described I define someone with class. So for example, somebody could be of the "traditional working class" but exhibit many more of the positive behavioural traits I outlined in my earlier rambling post, than somebody of the "upper classes", who could be an utter cretin. Where I suggested this may be connected with cars is that certain cars may be seen to be more classy than others because they are generally perceived (rightly or wrongly) to be driven by people who exhibit more of the positive behavioural traits typically associated with classiness. Without trying to sound very old, being classy is basically, I think, about behaving 'like a gentleman (or lady). I mean gentleman in a modern sense, not that if you don't open the car door for your wife you aren't classy). So then, with cars, it's about what type of car is most likely (based on preconceived, generalised stereotypes, and perhaps personal experiences) to be driven by someone who drives like a gentleman and then behaves like a gentleman out of the car too. Some cars are so ubiquitous or nondescript that the range of people that in general perception may drive them makes it very difficult to reasonably think that type of car is probably driven by someone with class (eg Peugeot 206).I don't think cars are much of an indicator of wealth or status in 2017. You'd have to go back in the 1980s or 1990s before leasing became popular, and when company cars were still a direct corollary to wealth and status. I think Ford was the first manufacturer to popularise PCP with the "Options" plan which launched in 1992.
A battered Legacy or Merc W124 could be owned by a rich landowner, or it could be owned by an impoverished cheapskate. Probably easier to tell class by someone's accent, or watch, or shoes or whatever.
spreadsheet monkey said:
tomic said:
Some years ago you might have looked at a Mercedes E Class Estate or a Range Rover and thought it was a classy looking motor and the owner was probably a person of taste.
When you say "classy", are you asking what cars are an indicator of wealth?I don't think cars are much of an indicator of wealth or status in 2017. You'd have to go back in the 1980s or 1990s before leasing became popular, and when company cars were still a direct corollary to wealth and status. I think Ford was the first manufacturer to popularise PCP with the "Options" plan which launched in 1992.
A battered Legacy or Merc W124 could be owned by a rich landowner, or it could be owned by an impoverished cheapskate. Probably easier to tell class by someone's accent, or watch, or shoes or whatever.
But is someone who demonstrates class by choosing a particular car quite the same thing as having a classy car (the title of the thread) - I guess that's arguable
Previously mentioned Maserati Ghibi and the previous generation Quattroporte stand out as classy or difficult to quantify the class of cars and then there is the Citroen C6. We have new Mercedes GLS which gets many looks but never certain they're positive whereas the C6 I saw today turned my head with its effortless style and class
MaxSo said:
Where I suggested this may be connected with cars is that certain cars may be seen to be more classy than others because they are generally perceived (rightly or wrongly) to be driven by people who exhibit more of the positive behavioural traits typically associated with classiness. Without trying to sound very old, being classy is basically, I think, about behaving 'like a gentleman (or lady). I mean gentleman in a modern sense, not that if you don't open the car door for your wife you aren't classy). So then, with cars, it's about what type of car is most likely (based on preconceived, generalised stereotypes, and perhaps personal experiences) to be driven by someone who drives like a gentleman and then behaves like a gentleman out of the car too.
Based on the above, should the title of this thread be "what car(s) would Roger Moore drive?"I thought he drove an old Renault 5
As has been said by a few posters previously I think we're confusing classy with classless & old money even.
Classless cars are likes of(the only modification allowed are tow bars or dog guards):
Older VW Golfs - S or SE
Volvo saloons & estates but not the R-Design
VW Up!s without any stickers & the like
Old money cars are the likes of (again limited modifications allowed):
Range Rovers - dark colours but not black, no tints, sensible wheels (not black)
Land Rover Defenders in land owner spec
Older - non footballer Bentleys
Per Mid-nineties Mercedes
I'm struggling on classy cars, but her are my rules:
Colours - Dark metallics but not black & red is Ok on an Alfa Romeo
Wheels - OEM & not black
Glass - clear or at least the lightest available
No loud exhausts
No big boot spoilers
It can't be owned by a footballer
You can't have been tailgates, cut up by, or see them parking over 2 bays & the like (not classy behaviour)
Please feel free to add to these.
I suggest another category - tasteful cars i.e.
Aston Martins
Jaguars
Old money spec Range Rovers
Golf GTIs in dark blue, grey or silver with the tartan seats
Classless cars are likes of(the only modification allowed are tow bars or dog guards):
Older VW Golfs - S or SE
Volvo saloons & estates but not the R-Design
VW Up!s without any stickers & the like
Old money cars are the likes of (again limited modifications allowed):
Range Rovers - dark colours but not black, no tints, sensible wheels (not black)
Land Rover Defenders in land owner spec
Older - non footballer Bentleys
Per Mid-nineties Mercedes
I'm struggling on classy cars, but her are my rules:
Colours - Dark metallics but not black & red is Ok on an Alfa Romeo
Wheels - OEM & not black
Glass - clear or at least the lightest available
No loud exhausts
No big boot spoilers
It can't be owned by a footballer
You can't have been tailgates, cut up by, or see them parking over 2 bays & the like (not classy behaviour)
Please feel free to add to these.
I suggest another category - tasteful cars i.e.
Aston Martins
Jaguars
Old money spec Range Rovers
Golf GTIs in dark blue, grey or silver with the tartan seats
Due to the sad fact that new cars all look aggressive, a serouisly classy car thus has to be an older one. My suggestion is an gen. 1 Volvo S80 in dark blue with a bright interior.
May be the perceived classiness of a car depends on it´s imagined driver. A handsome man in it´s mid 30s makes the mentioned Volvo classy (or vice versa). A gentleman in it´s 60s combined with the same Volvo may be a rather soulless show. On same old guy may look a Range Rover classy, while the younger guy would make it bit posh.
May be the perceived classiness of a car depends on it´s imagined driver. A handsome man in it´s mid 30s makes the mentioned Volvo classy (or vice versa). A gentleman in it´s 60s combined with the same Volvo may be a rather soulless show. On same old guy may look a Range Rover classy, while the younger guy would make it bit posh.
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