it wasn't to show off to others as much as it was to provide yourself with comfort

and believe me, the classic rolls royces are a world apart from their "competitors" or alternatives

I've driven a 34 SS1 and a 38 wraith

admittedly there's 4 years between them and the wraith was probably in much better condition but the SS1 is ... terrifying in comparison

it wasn't as smooth, it constantly triggers your instinct to try to counter steer, you can literally see the flex in the chassis while you drive just by the door gaps

realistically it wasn't until the late 50s or early 60s that the justification for the price of luxury cars started to waiver and even then it's questionable because the overengineering to produce reliability in rolls and bentley was so extensive

also I don't think anyone bought new cars as investments until probably the last 30 years because historically it wasn't worth it for such considerable periods of time, that trend has only changed very recently

In any case we can partly blame any backslide on enthusiast support (and there has been some) on milennials.

Who, in general, give no shits about cars and just want them for practicality and status

I mean...look at the mini suvs that are out right now

So much sporty potential...wasted

Honestly I think it's mainly down to two factors; the medias portrayal of wealth and frankly the erosion of pleasurable driving vehicles due to technology

And that dkes not exactly encourage risky moves from car mfgs

Eh.

You can still have a pleasurable drive with tech. It has simply moved down market since it gets dangerous once you start getting into 600+ power figures.

Less of an issue when you have 155hp, whether that comes from a V8 or a 4 pot

technology has made cars faster but also less engaging for a driver, so the "pure driving experience" doesn't really exist in modern cars, the result is the car enthusiast can buy pretty much any of the top line vehicles and it be comfortable and refined, meanwhile the media has a bunch of fucks showing off in lambos and ferraris looking like total cunts which puts a lot of people off buying them because a large amount of wealthy people don't want to draw attention to themselves, the majority I'd say

I kind of call this a case of rose tinted lenses.

Kind of

it's not just technology though, it's also all the safety stuff adding on weight and making cars simply fat

Oh that is definitely a factor

I have a friend who has ludicrous wealth and he buys horribly exorbitant cars, if I had his money I'd be buying 80s and 90s stuff because it's more "fun" to drive

he likes to show off though

I think a lot of people are that way

personally if I had his money I'd buy myself a merc s65 amg for my day to day business and probably an f40 for the fun

That is entirely relative. I have driven an older sporty car before. An old GTI.

It was engaging, yes

In a way i would rather avoid in my daily drive

If your steering wheel is not directly connected to the steering box, you're wrong.

well he also doesn't care about the performance, I mean he bought an urus as soon as it was available

because he wants the badge

I think part of the problem is that speed has become meaningless.

Or more accurately power

the gumball drivers would disagree

Because once you get above about 700hp, getting it to the pavement is almost impossible on a road legal vehicle

700hp is barely faster than 600 these days

Not without significant compromises

I think the chiron might dispute that

Throw enough money at it and anything is possible

So lets stick to the realm of the mass produced

I mean the chiron barely even makes money