Does the simple fact that a car come from Europe mean that is automatically a luxury car? Are all European cars luxury cars? Seems like an impossible riddle, but the answer just might be the combination of both. Let’s start by answering another equally important question. What makes a car a luxury car? The answer for that question is just a little bit easier. It’s all about how a car pampers you.
Sure, a car named after a world famous city or a fancy word in a foreign tongue adds an era of class, but luxury is really about how a car makes you feel. It’s about how the seat caresses you in comfort as you drive down the road. It’s about the looks you get when you pull up in the parking lot. It’s about how the car compliments your attitude and confidence. Luxury is not just a status symbol, but a state of mind.
Alright, maybe luxury is just a little bit more than a state of mind. Is it a coincidence that a luxury car just happens to come from Europe? Is there some European secret to making a world class luxury car? What do European car makers know about luxury that the rest of us don’t know? Maybe it just seems that way or maybe Europeans just have a better appreciation for the exquisite than other car manufacturers. Maybe European car makers want to make the rest of the world just as comfortable as they are behind the wheel.
Let’s try to figure out the answer for some of these questions by asking one more. What is luxury? A simple definition of luxury is “a state of great comfort.” Many European cars makers do indeed focus on comfort. Comfort is more than just a seat that cradles your body as you drive. Comfort includes the amenities. Amenities today aren’t your father’s amenities. GPS, heated leather seats and even a mp3 dock station can now be found on most new car models. It is the extra amenities. Most of today’s amenities or extras are high-tech options that make driving not only as effortless as possible, but as safe as possible.
Europeans are no strangers to luxury. European’s appreciation of the finer things in life is evident in the famous wines of Italy and France. Take a look at some of the world famous paintings on display at the Louvre. Gaze upon beautiful statues in Rome. Sample the flavours of a dinner that took hours to prepare and a meal that literally lasts for hours. Spend a relaxing weekend in a Swiss chalet or walking through a regal English courtyard. Witness the stunning Renaissance designs meticulously preserved in the Hapsburg gardens in Austria. Smell the sweetly-scented tulips of Holland carefully placed on a dinner table.
An appreciation for the finer things in life can be found throughout Europe. It should come as no surprise that a similar attention the detail and appreciation of beauty is put into the design of a European car. The attention to detail that goes into creating a luxury car comes from generations of craft-making. In Europe, passing down a trade from one generation to another was and still is a way of life in many cultures.
Part of this includes a desire to create something that is not only appreciated by others, but also makes the person who created it feel proud. This extends to the creation of a luxury car. Sure, the person driving a luxury car appreciates the added comforts and amenities, but you can bet that somewhere those responsible for creating the cars are smiling too. So, is a European car a luxury? Is a luxury car European? It doesn’t look like we’ve found a definite answer. Maybe, it’s a little of both.