Which actually doesn't work when buying a car, because some premium car brands are notoriously unreliable, prone to basic manufacturing defects, expensive to run, and inefficient.

Their only selling point is a certain mid-market bling. No one making a rational decision would ever buy one.

But this is basic US MBA strategy. Cut corners on tangibles, replace them with hype and marketing bullshit targeted at a specific demographic, then leverage The Brand™ to charge the highest possible prices.

Use both formal traditional advertising and informal online astroturfing to maintain the illusion of value.

It's called marketing, but in reality it's industrial-scale behaviour modification.