# Domestic items seen as "luxury" in other countries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 16, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667 "2010-05-16T19:18:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/41 "2010-05-17T14:58:04Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > Even McDonalds and KFC are often considered the kind of hip place you’d take a first date [in China]. > [@Fiendish Astronaut](#): > > \*n Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) […] a) the food was much more expensive than local food - though about the same price as in the West, and b) the customers were generally the more wealthy locals. KFC was definitely considered a luxury. Same deal in India for various US fast food chains like McDonalds and Pizza Hut. They aren’t **luxury** restaurants per se, but definitely considered fancier and more exotic than the average. Kind of how we’d treat a popular upscale and creative new Asian restaurant in the neighborhood: a place to go for something rather chic and out of the ordinary, worth dressing up a bit for. You definitely wouldn’t go into an Indian Pizza Hut in your grubby old gardening clothes, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/42 "2010-05-17T15:24:56Z")
> [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](#): > > No. Mercedes does not sell their plebian \<2l diesel taxicabs in the US, there is no particular demand for them. The luxury models sold in the US are also luxury models in Europe and are usually quite a bit more expensive than they are in the US. I’ve heard that BMWs are considered just ordinary cars in South Africa, while they’re considered luxury enthusiast-oriented vehicles in North America. Isn’t Ford considered a slightly more upmarket brand in the UK compared to its home turf in the United States? I’ve also seen references on Top Gear and in British car magazines that Honda is the preferred auto brand among the elderly, much like Buick in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/43 "2010-05-17T15:27:12Z")
> [@Charley](#): > > I don’t know about your conclusion - that in the US it’s more of a luxury to have wine with a meal - but my experience with the price of wine is absolutely the opposite of yours. I’ve never seen wine in a restaurant at the same price as retail, in fact it’s just a given that we pay more - it’s assumed to be where the restaurant makes money as far as I know. I wouldn’t be surprised to pay almost as much per glass for a wine in a restaurant as it would cost per bottle from a shop. > > I’m not disbelieving you, but where have you seen this? (I’m in the UK) In France, most restaurants will do a carafe of house wine for very little money - often not much more than a bottle of fizzy water. Sometimes I get the impression the wine might be watered down a bit, but it’s usually palatable. > [@elmwood](#): > > Isn’t Ford considered a slightly more upmarket brand in the UK compared to its home turf in the United States? Not really. Fords have a reputation for being “rep mobiles” (i.e. cars driven by travelling salesmen - the Ford Mondeo is the archetype of this), dull-but-reliable family hatchbacks (Ford Focus) or sensible choice for a teenager’s first car (Ford Fiesta). ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/44 "2010-05-17T15:33:20Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I’ve heard that BMWs are considered just ordinary cars in South Africa, while they’re considered luxury enthusiast-oriented vehicles in North America. > > Isn’t Ford considered a slightly more upmarket brand in the UK compared to its home turf in the United States? I’ve also seen references on Top Gear and in British car magazines that Honda is the preferred auto brand among the elderly, much like Buick in the United States. Speaking of Buick, at least a few years ago, it was a trendy, prestigous vehicle in China. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/45 "2010-05-17T15:42:18Z")
> [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](#): > > No. Mercedes does not sell their plebian \<2l diesel taxicabs in the US, there is no particular demand for them. The luxury models sold in the US are also luxury models in Europe and are usually quite a bit more expensive than they are in the US. Also, in Europe there are Mercedes trucks – I see them all the time, especially in Germany. That’s another thing that doesn’t get exported to the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/46 "2010-05-17T16:04:21Z")
> [@Todderbob](#): > > isn’t air conditioning considered “luxury” in England? Where its pretty standard in the US. it’s rare to find a new home without central air, anywhere but maybe Alaska, even in Montana and the northern most of the lower 48… ? Although not many houses have air-conditioning in the UK, many public buildings, including shops and offices have it, together with more modern trains and buses. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/47 "2010-05-17T16:06:32Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I’ve heard that BMWs are considered just ordinary cars in South Africa, while they’re considered luxury enthusiast-oriented vehicles in North America. I don’t believe this is accurate. I would consider BMW a luxury car in South Africa, although I believe they are more common than Mercedes or Audi. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/48 "2010-05-17T16:09:54Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My experience is mostly restricted to The Caribbean, but my gf has been to Paris and told me it was similar there. And I’m speaking of entire bottles, not by the glass or carafe. If the UK is similar to the US, it’s a shame. No, it’s not generally the case in most of Europe that restaurant wine is the same price as retail wine, I’m sorry to report, even in France. I did notice on a recent trip to the US (New England) that wine in restaurants, even average ones, seemed stupidly expensive. But the poor £-$ exchange rate might have added to the sticker shock. Didn’t stop me buying it, however 😛 ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/49 "2010-05-17T16:11:26Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Speaking of Buick, at least a few years ago, it was a trendy, prestigous vehicle in China. On a tangential note, Playboy (using the trademark Playboy rabbit logo) is a leather goods/clothing brand in China. Which version is the luxury brand is left as an exercise to the reader. ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/50 "2010-05-17T16:24:46Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I’ve heard that BMWs are considered just ordinary cars in South Africa, while they’re considered luxury enthusiast-oriented vehicles in North America. > > Isn’t Ford considered a slightly more upmarket brand in the UK compared to its home turf in the United States? I’ve also seen references on Top Gear and in British car magazines that Honda is the preferred auto brand among the elderly, much like Buick in the United States. BMW has historically had a fairly close relationship with South Africa, and IIRC have some significant production facilities there. so you are correct that BMWs might make up a bigger percentage of cars on the road than other brands. I guess the key to note is that like Mercedes, BMW’s model range goes far below what the cheapest model would be in the US, which have at least 6 cylinder engines. Most of their sales in South Africa and the rest of the world will be 4 cyl diesel models. As far as ordinary vs luxury, I think you need to remember that most of the rest of the world, including Europe have lower rates of car ownership than the US, and car ownership is discouraged by the government through taxes on fuel, value added taxes on cars, and generally more investment in public transit and more dense urban planning. One result is that the “barrier to entry” of owning a car is generally higher, and people either own a nicer car (which generally will cost more to the end consumer than they do in America), or they won’t bother and just take the train or bus. An exact comparison would be quite complex and will probably bore you. Suffice to say that All car companies, if they want to operate with any volume in a foreign market, generally have very different product lineups for that market. As mentioned here and in other threads, Ford Europe has an entirely different car lineup than Ford USA, there was a time after the demise of the Ford GT supercar where they didn’t have a single car model in common (this will change once the Ford Fiesta is released in the US). This is the same for Japanese car companies - their popular Japanese models, like the Honda Fit, are largely poor sellers in the US if they are sold at all, and most of their volume come from exclusively US models not sold elsewhere. > [@](#): > > Speaking of Buick, at least a few years ago, it was a trendy, prestigous vehicle in China. It still is. More correctly, Buick is still in China what Buick was in the America of the 1960s, before GM allowed the brand to wither on the vine and Lexus to take its place. Currently Buick sells more cars in China than the US, and is wildly popular and massively profitable. Their model lineups are largely different and almost always European or Australian - Buick China has a Rear wheel drive large luxury competitor to the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5 series, for example, built from a Holden knockdown kit from Australia. In the older generation there is still some residual sentiment from World War II that the Americans are the “good guys” and on “our” side while the Japanese are viewed with some suspicion. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/51 "2010-05-17T16:27:14Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > No, it’s not generally the case in most of Europe that restaurant wine is the same price as retail wine, I’m sorry to report, even in France. ☹ Yet another reason to restrict my travels to the Caribbean. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/52 "2010-05-17T16:32:28Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > No, it’s not generally the case in most of Europe that restaurant wine is the same price as retail wine, I’m sorry to report, even in France. I just don’t understand how it could be true. After all, restaurant owners are in it for the money. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/53 "2010-05-17T16:39:28Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > I just don’t understand how it could be true. After all, restaurant owners are in it for the money. In restaurants that intentionally keep wine at retail, I’ve been told, basically, that the restaurateur _wants_ people to enjoy their food maximally. Many, myself included, believe that wine can play a role. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/54 "2010-05-17T16:43:01Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Same deal in India for various US fast food chains like McDonalds and Pizza Hut. They aren’t **luxury** restaurants per se, but definitely considered fancier and more exotic than the average. > > Kind of how we’d treat a popular upscale and creative new Asian restaurant in the neighborhood: a place to go for something rather chic and out of the ordinary, worth dressing up a bit for. You definitely wouldn’t go into an Indian Pizza Hut in your grubby old gardening clothes, for instance. I remember that when the first KFC in Bangladesh was still pretty new, there were people showing up in limousines and fancy dresses. It is in the richer part of town (so such things weren’t entirely out of place), but the image was rather striking. Also amusing is that one of the copycats is “California Fried Chicken”, because certainly California must be more upscale than Kentucky, right? ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/55 "2010-05-17T18:44:40Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > I once ate in a restaurant in England where the most expensive beer they had was Budweiser. It’s an import, y’know. Weird restaurant. I have never in my 36 years of life in the UK encountered an establishment where Budweiser was expensive. And it’s not an import, either. Budweiser, along with most other beers around the world, has local brewers: [http://company.monster.co.uk/anheuseruk/](http://company.monster.co.uk/anheuseruk/) _The UK market is managed by Anheuser-Busch Europe Ltd; a fully autonomous business unit within Anheuser-Busch International. Head office functions are based at Thames Link House, Richmond and brewing is carried out by Anheuser-Busch brewmasters at the Budweiser Stag Brewery in Mortlake._ And, just to add to that - Anheuser-Busch is currently Belgian owned, not American, but is responsible for 50% of all US beer sales. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/56 "2010-05-17T19:12:37Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Weird restaurant. I have never in my 36 years of life in the UK encountered an establishment where Budweiser was expensive. We eat in different restaurants then. Actually, maybe only one different - I have not noticed it elsewhere, not that I look for it - it just stood out. It was an Indian restaurant. > [@](#): > > And it’s not an import, either. Budweiser, along with most other beers around the world, has local brewers People on this board are too literal! I am sure it is regarded as being an American beer, no matter where it is brewed. Maybe one day it will be viewed otherwise, just as many Brits regard Fords and Vauxhalls as British cars, even though they may well be made in the Spanish operations of an American parent company. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/57 "2010-05-17T19:14:55Z")
New York magazine just ran an article on the clothing brand Uniqlo: > **[How Did Uniqlo Become the Hottest Retailer in New York? -- New York Magazine...](https://nymag.com/fashion/features/65898/)** > > Seemingly out of nowhere, their cheap, skinny rainbow-colored basics became a kind of New York uniform. Just how did the Japanese discount brand become the hottest retailer in the city? > [@](#): > > To many Japanese, Uniqlo’s success abroad is a bit of a puzzle. Most of the Japanese stores are small shops in malls or roadside outlets. The brand reached a peak there around 2000, when its ubiquity started to become an object of derision. “They were unisex, suburban, and everywhere,” says Murata. “In the early 2000s, when the fleece was hot, they sold 26 million of them in one year. Japan’s population is only 120 million. People started calling them ‘Unibore.’ ” ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/58 "2010-05-17T19:46:02Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > just as many Brits regard Fords and Vauxhalls as British cars They most assuredly do not! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/59 "2010-05-17T19:54:23Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > They most assuredly do not! 😃 Despite my current “location”, I am English, and I say “They most assuredly do” (or did - they could have changed since I left). ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667/60 "2010-05-17T19:57:02Z")
> [@panamajack](#): > > I remember that when the first KFC in Bangladesh was still pretty new, there were people showing up in limousines and fancy dresses. It is in the richer part of town (so such things weren’t entirely out of place), but the image was rather striking. Heck, this happens in the United States. I can drive by Red Lobster and all of the people from the Detroit-side of the road are dressed up to eat in a “fancy” restaurant, whereas to me it’s really only worthy of ordinary street clothes (which in summer can be shorts and T-shirt). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domestic-items-seen-as-luxury-in-other-countries/539667.md?page=4)