Plum, I completely understand what you're saying. There's a difference between liking the car because of what the car is, and liking the car because of what the car does for your image.
There's also a difference between being able to buy a car and actually being able to afford the car.
I'll give you an example using my old subdivision. In 1997, when I built that house, it was brand new in a nice neighborhood. Not "upscale" but nice. And even though the prices weren't very high, everything was shiny and new. In 2003 when the interest rates started to drop, people who used to live in apartments were suddenly able to buy homes. There was a couple who bought an older house down at the end of the block from me. I think they both worked two jobs and just barely pulled together the $1000 or whatever their mortgage was each month. They had 4 cars, 3 of which didn't run. The aggregate value of all four vehicles was probably $1000. They all sat out on the driveway because the garage was packed full of crap. None of them had current tags. The lawn was never mowed. The kids' toys were all over the front yard. The house was in desperate need of paint. The screens in the windows were torn and falling out. Basically, the place looked like complete ****. It looked like the Clampets had moved in. Apparently, after barely making their mortgage payment, there wasn't enough money left for incidental things like watering a lawn, gas for a lawn mower, paint or screens.
So the guy next to them put his house up for sale. The people that bought it moved in like 9 family members (kids, parents, grand parents, great grand parents) so that they could swing the mortgage. That place went to hell in record time, as well. So the guy next to them sold. And so began the ruination of that neighborhood. Obviously, I sold before they destroyed the value of my home and built a new home elsewhere.
The point is, there are people that can afford to buy a house and people that afford to own a house. The same is true of cars. It's not just being able to scrape up the coin for your monthly payment, but actually being able to fix it, clean it, maintain it, keep it safe, buy tires for it, prevent it from leaking all over the parking lot, etc.
When the price on these cars started dropping, people saw them as a car they could make a payment on. But that didn't leave anything left over for maintenance. And the people that don't care about the car itself, but only care about making sure people see them in it, ruin the image of the car. And oftentimes, ruin the car itself.
I am far from a wealthy guy, but I am a car guy. I'd rather buy a $40k car I can afford to take care of than an $80k car I can't. Unfortunately, I think that's becoming a minority view point.
We just need to give him the support and encouragement he needs to make the switch. I offer Phil some encouragement: 
