• by Karl Greenberg , June 2, 2008

At one point in Sinclair Lewis' novel "Babbit" about the dyspeptic ambitions of a real estate salesman, the title character tools about town in his new car, his friend riding shotgun. In the scene, he proudly extols the virtues of the dashboard cigar lighter, an emblem of affluence.

The Luxury Institute, which studies such things, released a survey this month that says the nameplate, not the lighter, makes the rich man or woman (even if she does smoke cigars).

The New York-based firm rolled out a ranking of luxury-vehicle brands preferred by affluent consumers. The rankings are based on its Luxury Brand Status Index, an online survey of 1,642 wealthy American consumers with an average income of $349,000 and average net worth of $3.7 million.

For overall brand status, Porsche got the most votes, with Lexus and Mercedes ranking second and third, respectively. Mercedes has been working hard in the post-Chrysler era to rebuild its status and appeal to younger, performance-oriented luxury-car buyers.

Also included in the ratings were Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, and Volvo. BMW ranked fourth, Jaguar fifth, and Lincoln was last of the 12 brands covered, in terms of overall status.

Those who rated the brands most favorably tended to be males over the age of 55, with average household income between $150,000 and $199,000 and over $300,000, and net worth under $1 million. Lexus was the luxury brand the largest group of respondents--14.4%--said they would consider for their next purchase.

Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute, says the overall luxury brand status ranking is an amalgam of responses on product quality, customer service, and intangibles such as whether a product is unique and exclusive, owned by others one respects, and how special it makes one feel across the spectrum of customer experience.

Pedraza says that in addition to the top three, others that did well include Acura and Infiniti. He says the Cadillac product has scored well, but "consumers are ambivalent because it has been inconsistent, for several reasons. It's inconsistent in terms of prestige. Consumers have a clearer perception of what a brand like Lexus is. Cadillac is still bouncing around in ratings."

In terms of customer experience, the Institute rated Lexus No. 1, and Acura and Infiniti were second and third. And tied were Volvo, BMW, Audi and Cadillac. "In the previous year, Cadillac was No. 1."

As for Porsche, Pedraza says the brand unites design with its unassailable (so far) aerie as the quintessential sports car for a serious driver. "They are incredibly focused, their styling is unique, and they have been consistent over the decades," he says.

What about the Ultimate Driving Machine? "A lot of [respondents]--particularly the purists--said they have been turned off by the styling of the BMW," says Pedraza, referring to BMW chief of design Chris Bangle's alterations to the brand's hitherto squared-off look. Bangle brought Baroque curves, odd geometry and the occasional hood hump to cars like the 2002 7-Series (widely lambasted for items like its obtrusive rear deck and i-Drive do-it-all controller) and Z4 coupe.