Asked why Taiwanese look first to German manufacturers, He compared local taste in luxury cars with taste in wine and liquor.
"Before, the only wine we had to drink was Kaoliang and rice wine," He said. "Then in the 1980s, when people had more money and some people had a lot more money, the drink of choice became cognac. No one cared to try a better brand of rice wine."
Likewise, he believes, now that they can finally afford to eye the luxury car market.
Wang and his wife are no exception. In the BMW showroom near the campus of National Taiwan University, the couple was waiting to test drive a silver 520i. Wang's wife seemed more taken with the X3 sports utility model and had been admiring a line of BWM apparel and accessories under glass; NT$8,000 sunglasses and a NT$12,000 BMW bag.
Wang himself wanted nothing to do with bags and glasses and seemed intent on dissuading his wife from wanting a sports utility vehicle.
"We've talked about a sedan all along and now she sees the X3 and likes it more," he said with a hint of exasperation. "She's only saying that because she would rather we were looking at Mercedes."
"If you want a nice car, Mercedes are nicer," she said in a near whisper.
But Wang wants a car that's nice to drive and the BMW, he says repeating the company's slogan, is the "ultimate driving machine."
Nonsense, his wife says, whatever they buy they'll be sitting in traffic a lot more than racing down the highway. "We have one afternoon of driving home in nice weather without a lot of traffic and he thinks he needs an ultimate driving machine!'"
Being able to afford the sticker price, it would seem, doesn't make buying the car a luxury.
RSS