Oh, I find that group of people insufferable too. But sadly, that's who is buying your cars, or should I say, leasing them for silly money. Then leasing an A4. Then leasing an A7. Then leasing a Q7 when the family come. That's my point.
Lexus would be ridiculously dumb to not target a 20-something who has 40 years left of pumping monthly payments into their coffers.
No, sorry, leasing cars is not "silly money" to spend. It's literally people figuring out how to spend the least amount possible. It's people chasing monthly payments, not $/vehicle. It's the challenge the germans are facing: Their margins are not strong, and their business model is difficult to keep up because the natural lease-return cycle creates a large second hand market of relatively new vehicles to compete with their showroom models. It's what happens when you appeal to people who largely want the appearance of success and are willing to suffer financially to do it.
Also the group you're describing largely has no social mobility. Economic and social indicators disagree with your point. I would want to see solid evidence that the majority flow is A4 A7 Q7. Most everyone i know who goes in at the high end came across from other high end vehicles.
Somebody who is stretching to afford their entry level performance Audi lease and insurance on top of their sneaker and gym addiction is not a "whale" for any dealer. They're high maintenance, low value people. What you want is the guy who emails you every 18-24 months to have the latest versions of the car they have dropped off at their home and their lease/financing rolled automatically.
Besides, most of the 20-somethings I knew in line to be able to afford those higher end models spent their 20s burning out on wall street, still in school, or some other productive way to use their time.
The worst part about social media is there is an entire generation of uninformed people going by what other uninformed people lie to them about.
