"Prestige" is a useless term unless you at least attempt to define it in a somewhat objective way.

I think "prestige" is primarily a function of the following variables:

1) The price of the vehicle (full MSRP)
2) The average price of all vehicles within the brand
3) The average/median salary and/or net worth of all consumers purchasing cars of that particular brand
4) Whether you purchased the vehicle brand new (at or near MSRP) or used (markedly lower cost)

How much weight you give to each variable is arbitrary.

Given that, I think the Luxury Institute does the best job at attempting to quantify "prestige" when it comes to car brands -

http://www.autospies.com/news/Luxury...ercedes-29811/

The proprietary Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) survey is the only measure of the prestige of leading brands among wealthy Americans. A national sample of 1,642 wealthy American consumers, with an average income of $349K and average net-worth of $3.7 million, was surveyed online. Survey results are weighted to match demographic and net worth profiles of the same audience according to the latest Survey of Consumer Finances from The Federal Reserve.

Note: The rankings don't include brands geared towards ultra high net worth individuals (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, etc.).

 

Well, some marketing and brands are actually aimed at Generation Y................with Scion, though not a prestige-brand, being arguably the best example.

 

There are a number of terms used to describe the same general definition of prestige. "Elan", "panache", "premium", "upmarket", "ritz", "high-zoot", and "champagne" are some of the terms I've often seen used in car reviews to describe expensive or higher-line vehicles.

 

Yes, that's why it would be good to hear from Gen Y CL people, I think it's important from a business standpoint for both prestige brands and mainstream brands. Agreed, Scion had a very significant impact on the US car business.