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It brought back memories of the company car heyday of the 80s. My Dad wasn’t a rep but the company car thing became so prevalent among middle-class jobs that he eventually found himself with one too.
He went from a Cavalier 1.6 to a Granada Ghia to a Vauxhall Carlton CD (with a CD player, oh yes) to a Mercedes C class. I remember when the Granada arrived. I witnessed a neighbour sneak across the street at dusk to check the rear badge for the all-important "i" after the 2.0. He returned, crestfallen presumably, to his Ford Orion GL.
The initial idea I believe was to make it tax-efficient for those that needed cars for work. But the tax savings made it appealing to a wider group of employees and indeed employers, who could entice staff with a new incentive that cost less than actual pay rises. It became standard for a company car to be offered with many white-collar jobs.
The tax loopholes were eventually negated, I understand, but as a peruse of the What are you driving? thread might suggest, the ethos of badge competition and implied status surely remains as forceful as ever. In watching the above, I wondered what they drive now? And has "Maestro Man" ever recovered?
