Car and classical music



Dilemma. Yesterday a friend asked me about the difference of emotional experience between the new BMW 7i and a classical masterpiece. He has read in the newspaper this review of a new car: “The emotional experience of a driver has a highest priority – nearly precisely balanced steering, an appealing torque distribution of the four-wheel drive and a strong brake.” Yes, it seems that this description can create an emotional experience for which buyers are ready to pay 100.000 Euro or even more.

The friend asked me three questions:

• Emotions: Why is it for so many people that the emotional experience of sitting in the driver’s seat of a high class car is stronger than listening to a classical piano piece with so much emotional depth?

• Numbers: How can it be that there is such an extreme dis-balance between the number of people who enjoy driving high class cars and the number of people who enjoy classical music?

• Budget: How can it be that in the budget planning of the people the expense for cars has much higher weight than the expenses for cultural activities?

What would you answer?