You are certainly correct on that gap and I can see how my post would give you the impression that I was saying only folks who can afford private jets can afford a gren. That’s not what I meant and I was intentional with my words for that reason - “flown private more than I have” — I was specifically thinking about some folks I know who have tons of capital and invest in businesses and are in the “millionaire” to “multi, multi millionaire” level. I know these folks have flown private — a Board of Directors charters a private jet to go to a retreat/board meeting somewhere tropical, or they all fly together to assess the next project that’s going to be making them money. They don’t own the jets — there’s a few more “Multi’s” before “millionaire” to reach that class! — but they have flown private more than I have (my number of times on a private jet is at, and will likely remain at, zero). And these folks have lots of capital available. They don’t “work” for a living in the traditional sense - they “own” for a living, and that’s the start of the economic class of people who can easily pay cash for a Grenadier.
I contrast that with the next richest group, right below the “owner” group I just spoke of: the professional class - doctors, engineers, etc. Not too many of them make north of $300k, and those that do often are in very high cost of living areas - Vancouver and Toronto, for instance - and many will be carrying mortgages on homes worth millions in our crazy market. That puts a damper on free cash flow where even that group would have to think twice about taking on a $2300/month car payment; there’s lots of Range Rovers and G Wagens around so obviously some folks have the kind of resources to spend big on cars, but it’s a pretty small market and not at all reflective of the “typical” Canadian.
Very, very few of us have $130k cash to spend on a car. We might have that in non liquid assets, like homes and stocks, but that becomes a very different sort of decision. Some people will sell a bunch of their Apple shares to invest in a Grenadier. Not very many.
So, I think my point stands — if this was a sub-6 figure car and was priced proportionally to the competition like it is in other countries, then the type of person who would be looking at a Defender or a nice Jeep would also be looking at the Grenadier, and the Grenadier would come up as the top pick technically which would, for many people, justify paying a bit more for it. This is the situation in the USA in my opinion.
But at these prices in Canada, they will be attracting the type of person who is looking at Range Rovers and G-Wagens. That’s a different sector of our population, and since they are already served by the “Luxury” SUVs that come with 22” wheels, lots of leather, high technology, and a premium brand identity, it’s too bad the Gren is playing alongside them in Canada instead of being at the top of the pack of the kinds of cars middle class folks can actually consider.
