Street Creds.

“Competition is either a personal agenda, an ego related concern or one arising from attitude.”

What makes someone buy an imported car?

Is it the style? The craftmanship? The street creds?

The “Oh, I drive a Mercedes.” line has a hint of status to it. People gravitate to brands with a known lifestyle attached.

But what’s more interesting is the Mercedes ownership found within the upper echelon of Turkey.

Turks in particular love Mercedes — there’s a type of “I made it” when you see one drive by.

And in a country known for some of the highest automobile taxes in the world, the demand still exists.

An average 2020 C-class Mercedes starts around $40,000 in the US, which equates to around $85,000 in Turkey.

Basic economics tell us that when price rises, demand goes down.

But for the ones that seek status, price doesn’t matter.