IT has always perplexed me how cars are such a powerful status symbol when, at the end of the day, they are only a means of transport.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I have never understood why anybody would want to spend a huge amount of money on a fancy car when its additional features do not justify the enormous difference in cost when compared to a standard motor.

If you need to get from A to B, a £10,000 car will do the job just as successfully a £150,000 Ferrari. It won't be as powerful and it won't turn any heads, but it will still get you there.

If you happen to have £150,000 to spare then good luck to you, but what really confuses me is the number of very expensive cars to be seen parked outside run-down properties where the occupants are clearly not flush. It seems they have chosen to invest in their cars instead of their homes, even though their cars will largely depreciate, while their homes, if they own them, will grow in value.

I can only speculate that these folk give their cars such high priority because they want to project an inflated self-image, in the same way that some people are willing to pay extortionate prices for designer clothes to impress others.

As the saying goes, a poser and his money are easily parted (or something like that!).

It is interesting how television adverts for cars are now so image-orientated, with very little information given about the vehicles.

I realised this the other day when I was watching the new ad for the Susuki Swift. It just showed a red car flashing past, with good-looking young people hanging about and funky music in the background. After watching it, I was none the wiser about the vehicle.

The same goes for the advert that features a car transforming into a dancing robot, and the one of Gene Kelly's face attached to a body popper performing Singing in the Rain, and so on.

The sad truth is that image is a powerful selling tool when it comes to cars and the advertising companies know that. It is little wonder that they insult our intelligence with fact-free adverts when we bow so easily to poser pressure.

Another example of this madness is the growing fashion for personal number plates.

I was recently offered the reg. W1X0N, which matches my surname, for £4,000, but I politely declined. Even if I were an extravagant billionaire, I'm sure I could still find better things to spend my money on.

It was suggested to me that the benefit of a personal number plate is that people don't know how old your car is. But I pointed out that as I own a 1.2 Vauxhall Corsa, I am hardly likely to care about impressing other motorists. It was then suggested that the purchase could be an investment but, I'm sorry, I could never bring myself to swan about with W1X0N number plates on my car.

I have my image to think about!

THE END