Just a clarification on the BMW... I was just using it as an example of total ownership cost and why a high-end luxury can be comparatively cheap even with high maintenance costs. I don't really like 'em, honest.
The BMWs I've driven have too much of a gimmicky feel for me. Some of them you can barely see the steering wheel for all the buttons on it.
I also think (a guess) that BMWs are more likely to have been driven hard (ultimate driving machine and all that).
But most importantly, they suffer from the stereotype that their drivers are jerks.
I have a friend who has several newer BMWs (and drives like a jerk, by the way) and whenever I drive one of his cars I can feel the difference in the way other drivers treat me.
No courtesies extended in merging or turning, for example, which of course means you have to muscle your way in like a jerk... and the self-perpetuating cycle continues.
Oh yeah, and their grills are ugly.